Out of Harm's Way
by Bellabear21
Summary: After two high-profile wizarding officials from around the world are murdered without any leads, the Ministry of Magic moves MOM Hermione Granger into a government-owned property where she can be under the supervision of an Auror. DRAMIONE (Rated M for lemons in the future)
1. Chapter 1

Summary: After two high-profile wizarding officials from around the world are murdered without any leads, the Ministry of Magic moves MOM Hermione Granger into a government-owned property where she can be under the supervision of an Auror. DRAMIONE

I do not own Harry Potter and all characters, and related indicia belong to J.K. Rowling.

Daily Prophet- London

Monday, September 25th

STILL NO ANSWERS

It has been two weeks since MACUSA's Samuel Quahog was discovered dead in his high-security residence in New York City. Aurors have confirmed that they suspect that foul play was involved. Head Auror Glad Pigmire issued this statement, "President Quahog was in excellent health when he left the office on Tuesday afternoon. Healer Jeanie Travers reports that President Quahog had a mandatory exam three days before his death in order to travel abroad. Therefore, we must conclude that our president did not pass away due to health complications and treat the investigation as a homicide. At this point the investigation is ongoing and we will not be discussing the case with the public."

We do know from inside sources that the killing curse was not used on President Quahog, and no traces of poison were found in his system. Whatever was used to kill President Quahog remains a mystery. This is a developing story.

Tuesday, October 3rd

MURDER IN THE NIGHT AGAIN!

German Minister of Magic Adalard Luzhise has been killed in his home barely three weeks after President Samuel Quahog. This disturbing news was brought to our attention after MOM Hermione Granger held an emergency press conference in London at three o'clock this morning. The German Ministry of Magic confirmed that Luzhise died in a German magical hospital from serious lacerations and afflictions all over his body. Healers report that Luzhise was transported to the hospital by his wife, Lucy, and teenage son, Adalard Junior. Lucy Luzhise was soaked on one side with her husband's blood and told healers that she woke up to blood seeping into her nightdress from her husband's wounds. Healers worked for over an hour trying to revive the minister, but all known spells and potions failed to keep the minister alive. Aurors are at a loss as to how the minister could have been attacked from inside his enchanted home and have declared this a homicide. The Aurors must be considering that the death of President Samuel Quahog and Minister Adalard Luzhise are not coincidences. Minister Granger hinted at the idea during her speech but would not answer any direct questions after her statement.

"On behalf of the ministry of magic, I am sorry that Minister Adalard Luzhise is no longer with us and Great Britain will do whatever we possibly can to help our fellow nation in this tragic time."

Hermione stepped off the platform as flashes and shouts echoed behind her. With everything on her mind and the deaths of her equals, she still thought about the flashes and shouts of May 2nd, 1998. Hermione didn't like to think of it as the Battle of Hogwarts because she never thought herself capable of fighting in a battle. Battles were something goblins and giants in the 17th century participated in, not her. She knew that deep down she did fight in a battle and that she was considered a heroine, but she liked to push it from her mind. She was Hermione, and she much preferred her title as Minister of Magic because she felt that she could wrap her head around the concept. Heroines were much more complicated

Her title being screamed in her ear ripped her out of her thoughts.

"Minister, MINISTER, HERMIONE!"

It was Harry. Hermione had told him thousand times that he didn't need to call her Minister, but he always insisted that he should treat her with the same respect as everyone else because she deserved it, and he also said that no one respected Hermione more than himself. Harry was the head of the Auror department and he began to trail Hermione around as soon as he discovered that Samuel Quahog was murdered. He walked beside her with his wand drawn, it was always drawn. She silently understood why but had never questioned him about it. Constant vigilance.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Let's go up to your office. We need to have a chat."

"Can't it wait until I get a few hours of sleep? It has been a terrible, long day."

"I'm sorry Hermione, it can't. This is about your safety and that is the top priority."

This annoyed Hermione. Harry knew better than anyone that she was more than capable of handling herself. Harry pulled her into a lift and the all too familiar female voice announced three floors before they reached Hermione's office on level one. Hermione whispered her password to the M on the door and it granted them access.

Harry spoke before Hermione could, "Hermione, I know what you are going to say, and I value your opinion, but these attacks are not random, and you know it. You need more protection."

Hermione was about to open her mouth to speak when a soft knock interrupted her. She threw her head back and combed her hair with her hands, let out a sigh. "Come in,"

To her surprise, her predecessor and mentor Kingsley Shacklebolt walked swiftly into the room, followed by Ron. Harry gave Kingsley a meaningful look and Kingsley gave him a nod. Ron was scowling and walked around the room twice, and started to go for a third when Hermione called out, "Ron knock it off. I am perfectly safe in my own office."

Ron rounded on her, "This is a serious matter, Hermione, we have to double and triple check everything. You mean the world to us, and the person who is out there murdering politicians is clearly skilled."

"We don't even know why he or she murdered the presidents. There is no reason to think that I will be his next target."

Harry countered her argument, "That's the point, Hermione, we have no idea what this person is after, or why they committed murder, so we have to be especially careful since we don't know the motive…That's why we want you to lie low for a while. Erm, Hermione we want you to take a sort of vacation until we get this figured out." Harry choked out the last part. He started to cringe even before the minister started to speak. Twelve years of friendship had taught Harry when to expect a fight.

Hermione turned red and balled her fists. Her hair, which was already frizzy from the night's events seemed to frizz up even more, and her brown eyes bore into Harry's. Two government leaders are murdered and Harry's ingenious plan is to take a vacation? Preposterous! Hermione was not one to burst out and scream, but with her lack of sleep and the day's events, she felt so overwhelmed that she might've just let loose on Harry. She took a deep breath and reasoned that it was all she expected of Harry to tuck her safely away until the threat was dealt with.

"Not only is it what I want, it's what Ginny wants and just about every other wizarding family want too. They worship you Hermione, and if we lost you we would lose so much ground." Harry concluded and Ron frowned and shook his head seriously.

"I don't want to do this. The country is in a state of panic and I need to be here to be a brave face. What kind of leader would I be if I just decided to go on vacation while my equals are being struck down around me?"

"We understand your position Hermione, and we know what we're asking is a lot, but please consider it. The wizarding community knows that you are in danger and they will always respect that."

Kingsley who leaning against Hermione's bookshelf spoke in his deep voice, "All of the attacks have been in the officials' homes, and at night. Granger doesn't necessarily need protection when she is in the Ministry itself, just when she is at home. You live alone Granger, and these deaths prove that this person can get around spells and enchantments. We'll have the Auror department provide you with a suitable Auror to provide extra protection. We can even have a Fidalious charm set around your new location in order to limit who can access your home.

Hermione cut him off, "New location? I see no reason for me to move just because of these incidents. I can stay in my own home."

Ron growled, "Everyone knows where you live Hermione, that means an outsider could discover where you live very easily. It's best to be unpredictable." Hermione saw a flash in his eyes and she realized that he looked upset for some other reason than his ex-girlfriend might be on a hit list. Hermione continued to squint at him and he turned his back to her and started pacing.

"As you know, the ministry owns property all over the world and we think that we have found the perfect place for you to inhabit while you go on your extended trip."

"Harry I am not taking a leave of absence. If having a security detail is good enough for Kingsley then it is good enough for me."

"Fine, it might be better that way. I can't imagine what a disaster it would be if we cooped you up with-."

Ron interjected, "Yeah, its better if you do keep up appearances and come to work. Leading a country isn't something that can just be put on hold."

Harry gave a small smile, "We were thinking Holyhead because then you could be close to me and Gin. Ron was all for shipping you off to France but with you wanting to come to work, that would make for some tricky apparition and the last thing we want is for you to drown in the ocean after going through all this trouble." Harry let out a laugh at his own joke, and Hermione let out a little laugh of her own and collapsed into her desk chair.

"So how soon do I have to get packed?"

"Its already being taken care of. As soon as I give them the ok, they'll start packing and shipping to a secure location in Holyhead and we'll just have you make sure there isn't anything we missed and then we'll perform the charm and let you get some rest."

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes, "I should be there while they pack. I don't want them manhandling all of my possessions, and when am I going to get my security detail? I want to set some ground rules."

Ron spat, "He'll meet us at the house in Holyhead." And with that, Ron threw the door open and walked out.

Hermione was right, there was something up with Ron, but before Hermione could say anything Harry said, "Don't worry about, he's just upset about the situation."

Hermione was too tired to care what Harry was talking about. Kingsley bid them both goodbye and left after Ron. Hermione walked to drink cabinet and poured herself a water and offered one to Harry. She knew that Harry would decline, but always thought it was rude not to offer. Harry only drank from a flask. Some people called him paranoid, but Hermione thought it was smart to cover all of his bases. Harry had experienced many close calls with Voldemort sympathizers after Voldemort fell from power. Also, due to the nature of Harry's job, he was under constant threat from criminals. She always teased him that he should have picked a quieter job that didn't involve hunting down dark wizards and he argued that it was the only thing he knew how to do.

Harry stood and stretched, "It'll all be okay Minister, I'll make sure this guy is run into the ground."

"It could be a girl you know."

"Yes, yes Hermione that's what I meant. A girl or guy. I learned my lesson the first time."

Hermione smirked at Harry and lifted he wand to the fireplace where it roared into life with the standard green flames.

"After you Minister?"

"Certainly,"

Hermione kept her wand drawn as she scooped floo powder in her hand and stepped into the flames and annunciated clearly, "Seventy Palmer Court," and the flames whisked her away. Harry took one more look around the office and turned to follow, but there was a knock at Hermione's door. Harry raised his wand and approached the door. He pulled it open with a jerk and came face to face with Draco Malfoy. He looked very displeased.

"Malfoy, I see you got my owl. The situation has changed and we have to act immediately."

His expression was still sour. "Potter, I still don't understand why you would pick me for this job. Forcing Granger to be cooped up is a terrible idea."

"I know, it was a terrible idea. We changed the plan, Granger will continue to work and make appearances, but you'll be following her around like a lost puppy. Anywhere she goes, you go. Hermione will not make this easy, so this is going to be a real challenge. She's 'the smartest witch of her age' and all that, and I think that makes you the only qualified wizard to take this job on. And not to be rude, you're one of the only Aurors without any attachments, and that means you can dedicate all of your time to keeping an eye on Hermione."

Draco pretended like the last remark didn't sting. His mother was always reminding him of this fact and it didn't make it easier. Any time Draco went to the manor for tea, some new pureblood diva was attending. Draco was over it, he wasn't going to conform to the ideals that brought on his father's death. He was looking to get serious with someone, but that would have to be put on hold while the minister was in danger. Draco held his job with the greatest respect and strived to uphold the laws of society. His original plan after the Battle of Hogwarts was to establish the Malfoy name in a good light again, but the wizarding world had other ideas. His entire family was captured and sent to Azkaban while they awaited trial and it seemed like they would never see the light of day again or a trial. It wasn't until Harry fucking Potter walked through the gates Azkaban all by himself and ordered the guards to escort the entire family to London for their trial at his request.

Draco's father was convicted almost instantly for his crimes against every walk of life. Draco knew that's what his father deserved and it was hard not to hate him for those things. Draco had seen him torture people and murder them in his own home and discovered other things his father had done during the trial. His father had given a piece of the Dark Lord's soul to a little girl in order to cover his own ass after the Dark Lord fell the first time. It was a disgusting trial.

Draco's mother was next, and Harry Potter saved her. He testified for well over an hour about how Draco's mother lied to Lord Voldemort after attempting to kill Potter and her single action saved Harry's life and changed the outcome of the entire battle. "Without Narcissa Malfoy's help, I wouldn't be here and neither would any of you. Narcissa Malfoy did what she had to do in order to see her son again, and her love for her son saved us all, much like my own mother,"

Draco silently cried when Potter compared Draco's mother to his own.

For Draco's own trial, Harry, Ron, and Hermione all testified on his behalf. Draco had many charges against him and one by one they were dropped. Hermione was the one who drove it home, she talked about how they were all just kids, and Draco's father had driven him to believe what was wrong was right, and that if he had been raised in a different situation, Draco might never have been forced into anything. One wizard countered her, "Ah but Miss Granger, he did do those things, and he should be punished for his actions."

Hermione was one step ahead of him, "Yes! And I plotted against the ministry, used polyjuice potion to infiltrate the Ministry and Gringotts, used unforgivable curses on other individuals, and stole a dragon. All of us kids did terrible things in the war to survive and Draco did the same. He is not his father."

The wizard did not speak again, and after a few moments, and some political jargon, Kingsley Shacklebolt, the newly appointed Minister of Magic asked for a vote and Draco was cleared of all charges. Thanks to Hermione, not a single hand raised against him. He later wrote a letter to her, asking for her forgiveness and to thank her, but he never sent it because his pride got in the way. Malfoys didn't beg for forgiveness or thank people. He still held onto the letter just in case he felt brave someday.

Draco came back from his reverie, and addressed Harry, "Have you told Hermione that this is happening? How did she handle it?" He was sure that Hermione would throw an outright fit at the idea of Draco Malfoy following her around, regardless of how she defended him publicly, he had bullied her in school and she wasn't likely to forget it."

"Erm, I haven't told her yet. It might be best to spring this on her right before we do the charm."

Draco gave him an incredulous look and didn't say anything. Harry could be incredibly thick.

Harry sighed, "You're right. It's another terrible idea. I'll talk to her. I should actually get going and so should you. I'm was about to walk into the fireplace when you knocked."

Draco nodded and turned for the lifts. "Oh, and Draco? Have some faith, ok? I know this won't be fun for you or her but try and make the best of it,"

Draco gave another nod and walked away.

A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you guys like this chapter. This is my first fic and I am excited to try it out. I tend to jump around when I write so I hope everyone understood what was going on. This fic is canon compliant except for that pesky epilogue/Cursed Child. Please review and tell me what you think so far.

B


	2. Chapter 2

**Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling**

 **Chapter 2**

Draco waved his wand and his last box flew down the stairs. It was nearly 5 o'clock in the morning and he wished for sleep. He had spent the last three hours waving his wand around his apartment and conjuring boxes out of thin air. Draco knew that he should have started packing weeks ago, but he had been procrastinating with the reasoning that the wizarding world would have solved the deaths of the President and Minister by now. When Harry had appointed him to this position weeks ago, he had put a lot of stock into the fact that it wouldn't happen. Harry had offered him a significant amount of gold to protect the minister, not that he needed it, but all the same, it was nice to know that he had the extra money. Draco owed Hermione, with all of his life, and that was all he needed to convince him to put his heart into it.

Draco was appointed an Auror by Kingsley Shacklebolt. Despite Shacklebolt's tough exterior, he believed in unity and appointed Draco an Auror because Draco had fought in the war and decided to go back for his NEWT's at Hogwarts. It was strange at first to be bossed around by Harry Potter but Draco became used to it quickly. Harry was a natural born leader and strived to make everyone feel a part of the team, including Draco. Draco mostly did undercover work for the Ministry, but he was occasionally thrown into the limelight. Harry seemed to trust Draco, which was more than Draco could have dreamed for. When Harry gave a particularly hard assignment, Draco liked to remind himself that 1) Harry had saved his life, and 2) he wasn't rotting in a cell in Azkaban. It always made jobs a little easier.

Draco's old eagle owl hooted softly on its perch in Draco's living room as Draco sank onto his couch. The owl hooted again and Draco replied, "I know, Bubo, it's going to be different from now on." Draco conjured a glass of whiskey and took a long pull. Draco wasn't a heavy drinker, but he did enjoy a nightly whiskey to calm his nerves. Hermione Granger kept crawling to the forefront of his mind and he resolved that he would have to stop drinking his nightly tonic to keep his wits sharp. He felt a twinge of honor as he considered the idea of him guarding the Minister of Magic. If he did his job well, it might bring some honor back to his family.

People tolerated Draco and his mother but tended to exclude them from events and social gatherings. Work was a little better, most people treated Draco in a professional manner, but there were a few times throughout Draco's career that were tough. Katie Bell, who works for the Department for Magical Games and Sports, refused to be in the same room as Draco for nearly a year. Draco was willing to tolerate it, he had almost killed her, but Harry interfered and reminded Katie that Draco was forced to do all of those atrocities.

Draco's grandfather clock chimed five times and caused Draco's heart to beat a little faster. He needed to leave for Holyhead soon. Draco enchanted his boxes to stack neatly by the fireplace and slung on his jacket that he had purposely not packed. He walked into each room and checked to see if he forgot anything important. Draco had left most of his possessions behind because he would only have a bedroom to keep his belongings. He hoped Granger had good taste in furniture and decorating. Draco liked to live in comfort and style.

Draco walked out of his front door and proceeded out of the building. The entire building was protected against unwanted apparitions and Draco had to walk across the street to the shaded park to apparate. After checking if the coast was clear, Draco willed himself to apparate to Holyhead. With a crack, he left home behind.

Hermione and Harry worked in comfortable silence packing up Hermione's home. The occasional, "Are you taking this?" or "Put this in the box over there," was all the two communicated throughout the night. When it was getting close to leaving, Harry mustered up the courage to tell Hermione that Draco would be her guard.

"Er- Hermione, there's something that I haven't told you about your security detail," Harry revealed.

Hermione squinted her eyes at Harry and stopped stacking plates into a box. Harry continued, "We're a little short on worthy candidates for your protection and we picked the best man for the job."

"Who is it?"

Harry hesitated. "Harry, if you don't tell me who it is, I'm going to assume it's someone terrible, like Malfoy or Cormac."

Harry's heart sank. He should have told her from the start. He worked so hard to make this work. He closed his eyes and wished there was another way.

"Hermione, it is Draco. He didn't want to do it, but he's the only one who is any position to make sure you are safe around the clock. He's a talented Auror and he has changed so much over the past three years."

Hermione's face drained of color and she spoke after a long pause, "Malfoy is going to be following me around _and_ living with me?" Her voice was very quiet. She set the dishes she was holding on the counter. Harry nodded apologetically.

"The best option for my safety is an ex-death eater who bullied me in school?" Hermione looked daggers at Harry.

"Yes, Malfoy is entirely professional and he truly respects you. He won't give you any problems and if he does, we'll handle it."

"No, this can't possibly work. I know I stood up for Malfoy, but this is drawing a line. I was tortured in his family's home. He watched while his aunt carved into me." As if Harry needed reminding of this, he could still hear her screams in his mind. Hermione rubbed her arm where her scar left her skin elevated. _Mudblood._

"Hermione, I'm well aware of how awful he treated you. He is not the same person, he has grown up, and he is constantly haunted by his past. I trust him with my life, and more importantly, I trust him with yours. I work with Malfoy every day and his entire outlook has shifted. I know that this will be difficult, but he is the best man for the job on account of the seriousness of this situation."

Hermione wanted to crawl under a rock and hide forever. She would rather risk meeting this serial killer than live under the same roof as Malfoy.

"Be brave for us all Hermione, I know it seems terrible, but he's not that bad."

Hermione never thought that she would hear Harry Potter say anything remotely nice about Draco Malfoy.

"Harry, what was the name of the baby dragon Hagrid hatched in his cabin?"

"Norbert, why do you ask?"

Hermione laughed, "I would have just never thought you would say that you thought Malfoy was 'not that bad'."

Harry laughed too, "I guess you're right. He's not perfect, he works well with me with the whole good Auror/ bad Auror routine." He paused, "We should probably finish packing. We're supposed to meet Malfoy in Holy Head around 5:30. I'm going to be your secret keeper so you should entirely safe at home between Draco and the Fidalius charm."

Hermione looked around her kitchen, she was sad to see it all boxed up, the movers had done most of it before she arrived. It seems like she had just settled down in her house and now she was being uprooted like an infant mandrake. Harry gave her a squeeze on the shoulder and they collected random items and threw them in a box. Hermione wasn't fussed about her possessions, she was tired and just wanted to curl into a ball and sleep.

When Harry and Hermione finally had the house packed into random unorganized boxes, they enchanted the boxes to shrink and fit all of her possessions into a trunk. They hoisted the trunk out to the sidewalk, Hermione murmured _Portis_ and the trunk glowed blue, she placed her hand on it, Harry did the same and spun like tops as they vanished on the spot.

Harry and Hermione landed with a soft thud on a dark dirt road. There were no street lamps and no houses nearby. Harry drew his wand and Hermione followed suit. Harry walked up to Hermione and tapped her firmly on the head with his wand. Ice encapsulated Hermione's body as the disillusionment charm took effect.

"I hardly think that this is necessary," she whispered. She swished her wand and her trunk rose into the air. Harry mumbled, "this way," and Hermione followed with her trunk in tow. The only sound she could hear was the crunch of gravel beneath her feet and Harry's loud mouth breathing.

"Are we close?" Hermione breathed. She thought of her tiny mattress tucked away in her trunk. She hoped it would be easy to find. Harry stayed silent but pointed to a dark shape about a quiddtich field's length away. Even at their distance, the house looked large. Hermione thought about selling these silly houses all over world and dedicating the money to other affairs. It was outrageous that the ministry had houses just lying around, mostly uninhabited while the Misuse of Potions office had to use their own personal cauldrons. She would be taking up the matter tomorrow with Phileas Chote, the head of international affairs.

As they drew nearer, with the help of the moon, she could take in the true beauty of the house. Hermione couldn't help but be a little excited to explore her new home. Harry and Hermione had reached the low garden wall and Harry held the gate open blindly, as Hermione walked through the gate followed by her trunk.

"Where are you?" He said as he looked three feet to her left.

"I'm here," and she grabbed his hand. They walked up the path and leaning against the front door illuminated by the moon was a silvery-blonde man with crossed arms and one foot propped up behind him. Hermione's heart began to beat a little faster and her hands felt sweaty in Harry's. Harry gave her hand a gentle squeeze and let go.

"Who caught the snitch the very first game we played against each other?" Harry challenged. Draco lifted his eyes to meet Harry's and raised his eyebrows.

"Potter, you know that quiddtich matches are public information. That is not a sound question."

Harry huffed, _at least he is thorough_. Harry tried to come up with another question, but he discarded each one with frustration. They were all so depressing or humiliating to Malfoy or himself.

He settled for "Why did you receive a detention in your first year for being out of bounds?"

To Hermione's surprise, Draco lit up with a smile, enhanced by the moon to look perfectly white, and he spoke, "Because I found out that you and Granger were sneaking a baby dragon out of the castle."

Harry laughed in return, "It just so turns out that you were right and someday I'd like to tell Professor McGonagall just to see the look on her face."

Harry started to walk forward and Draco raised his hand, "Not so fast, I haven't asked my question. What did I take from Longbottom first year?"

"His remembrall" Harry reached the porch steps, invisible Hermione in tow. Draco could just barely make out the shimmer of light refraction that concealed Hermione. "Let's get inside and get this taken care of." Draco picked up the heavy trunk and followed Harry and Hermione through the front door.

Hermione's eyes eagerly took in her surroundings. Harry flicked on the lights. The house was modern and grand. The walls were shades of cream and had honey-colored wood accents throughout. Hermione's leather sofa and recliner were already in place, courtesy of the movers who came to collect all of her large items. The sitting room flowed gently into the kitchen and dining area. Stairs lead to a loft with two bedrooms that overlooked the rest of the house. Hermione could tell that she would be very comfortable here, if it weren't for Malfoy moving in with her. Hermione strode over to the fireplace and created roaring fire, it was cold, but she wanted to see the effect the fire had on the room.

"Hermione, come here so I can lift the disillusionment charm off of you," Harry said. Hermione obliged and Harry lifted the spell with another tap on her head. Hermione chanced a glance at Malfoy and flinched. Draco held his breath as her eyes looked him up and down. He knew what she must be thinking and it made Draco feel shame. Hermione couldn't help but see those same eyes in a different setting. Those eyes were the most painful beings in her existence. When Bellatrix tortured her on the floor of the drawing room, she stared at Draco and pleaded with her eyes that he would stop the torture. Of course, Draco was in no position to do so and Hermione tried not to hold it against him. She would have to except that Draco had changed. Draco turned away from Hermione and with a flick of his wand locked the door.

"We need to get this over with. The longer we are here the longer we are vulnerable."

"Right, the spell is fairly complex, I learned how to do it from Mr. Weasley. There are two parts and the involve protecting the house and protecting the inhabitants," Harry strode to the front door and concentrating very hard, wrapped the door hard three times with his wand and muttered, " _Fidaluis Molomote,"_ and the effect was amazing. The door began to glow a soft white and slowly the walls surrounding the door began to glow white and soon all of the walls in the house were glowing. Harry turned his back on the door and approached Hermione. Harry beckoned Draco closer, "You two have to hold hands." Hermione gave Draco a nervous look, but Draco kept his cool, unperturbed face and reached for her hand. Hermione's hands were soft, and a little cold from being outside, but in Draco's hand they began to warm. Harry lifted up his wand and let go of it, and his wand stayed in mid-air between Draco and Hermione and spun in a slow circle. Harry grasped each of their empty hands and said, "By the magic in my blood and the love in my heart, I shield you Hermione Jean Granger and Draco Lucius Malfoy. I vow to keep your secret and protect it with my life." Harry's wand began emitting strands of light that looked like silk and the strands draped over each pair of hands. When the silk-like light faded from their hands Harry let go of their hands and covered his eyes with hands. Hermione rushed forward to give him a tight hug. As Harry had said those words, Hermione knew how must casting that charm would be on him. Wormtail must have said the same exact words to Lily and James, and it caused a rush of emotions for Harry.

Harry whispered to Hermione, "I will never betray you, Hermione, I love you,"

Hermione teared up at his words, "I know Harry. I love you too," and she squeezed him tighter. Draco stood back and watched the embrace. Harry sighed and pulled away, "Go get some sleep Hermione, take the day off."

Hermione smiled and wrapped her arms around herself, "I never take a day off. I have a very long list of things I'd like to do,"

"All the same, get some rest. You too Draco," Harry ordered. Draco nodded his head.

Harry exited the front door, past the garden gate, and vanished.

Hermione and Draco stood silently next to each other until Hermione, feeling awkward, spoke in a tired voice, "Well, goodnight," and Draco formally said, "Goodnight, Minister". He watched as she enchanted her trunk to levitate and walked up the large staircase. She poked her head into the first room and recognizing it at as her room, walked in and closed the door.

Draco walked up the stairs moments later and walked past Hermione's door past a door he knew was a bathroom, and walked into his own spacious bedroom. The room was better than he hoped for, but it still didn't feel like home. He stripped into his boxers and settled down onto the mattress that he had brought from home. He didn't bother with sheets or blankets; the room was hot from the roaring fire downstairs. And within moments, he drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Draco was woken several hours later to a short piercing scream that made his insides freeze solid. His fingers clenched around his wand that was positioned under his pillow, flung his bedroom door open, sprinted down the hall, and blasted Hermione's door clear off its hinges. With his wand raised and eyes searching, Draco entered the room. Hermione was sitting on her bed with her covers were drawn up to her waist. Her hands were over her mouth and had an apologetic expression in her eyes as she looked up at a panting Draco. It was clear to Draco that she was in no immediate danger and he let his wand drop to his side. Her hands dropped to her lap and she stammered, "I'm sorry, Malfoy. I didn't mean to wake you, or to have you break down my door." She looked at the door that was smoking slightly against the opposite wall. Then her eyes flashed to him, and he realized that he was entirely naked except for his light blue boxers. Draco became irritated and a little embarrassed.

"What made you scream?" He fought to keep a neutral tone.

"I received some unexpected news, and I couldn't help but exclaim." Her cheeks reddened slightly. Draco wanted to reply and ask what the news was, but he remembered that he was speaking to the Minister of Magic in his underwear. He started to back out of the room.

"Ginny Potter is pregnant," she blurted out. She had no idea why she was telling Malfoy this, but it seemed to lift something off of her chest. Draco stopped in his tracks. _Potter is going to have a kid? What a nightmare,_ thought Draco. He looked at Hermione who was staring down at the letter clutched in her hand. _She looks sad_ , Draco concluded. He wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure what to say. He knew that the 'I love you' from the night before had just been a one of friendship, or had it been? She looked up from the letter and addressed him, "Sorry again for waking you, if you want, you can go back to sleep. It's probably going to be a long afternoon at the office."

Draco shook his head, "I'll stay up if you want I can make you some coffee."

"That's ok, I'll be down in a few."

Draco summoned the blasted door and secured it again with a quick repairo. He closed the door before he could catch the tear that slipped down Hermione's cheek.

Hermione knew that this day would come. Harry and Ginny were in love, married, and had excellent jobs. It was only expected that they start a family. She didn't think that she would feel like this. In general, she was happy and excited for them. She did feel a slight twinge of jealousy. She wished she had someone like Harry to grow a beautiful family with. Ron didn't want kids; it was one of the many reasons why they broke up. Now that she was the Minister for Magic, she didn't have time to romantically involve herself with anyone but she still wished. And no one seemed to be interested in her, she hoped that it was just because of her intimidating title. Hermione knew that she was pretty, papers around the globe had commented on it when she had been elected Minister, but figured that this didn't help her case, men would be intimidated by her appearance as well. Hermione's worst fear above all was dying alone. She knew it was irrational, but she had come close to death many times and knew she wasn't brave enough to face it alone. She wanted a family and for her kids to grow up with Harry's. She laughed to herself at the prospect of a little Hermione and a little Harry/Ginny running around the grounds of Hogwarts. She thought of Headmistress McGonagall learning about Ginny's pregnancy. She would probably mark the child's 11th birthday on the calendar and vowed she would retire before then.

Hermione rose from her mattress, which was on the floor without the headboard or frame, and dressed in her usual business outfit. The sun shined in through a large window to her left and she basked in its glory for a moment. Her thoughts flashed to Draco in his boxers. His body was incredible and she couldn't deny it. His chest was flat and toned with deep scars that slithered over his chest. This was no doubt from Harry's awful potions book. She wished Harry had gotten rid of the book sooner, then Draco would have never received those scars. It was interesting how Harry and Draco seemed quite friendly to each other, and Draco was most definitely respectful to her. She never thought in a million years that Draco would respect her, or talk to her without sneering. Malfoy had offered to make her coffee. This was not the same Draco Malfoy, and Hermione could live with that.

Hermione opened her freshly repaired door. She walked to the spacious bathroom that she would be sharing with Malfoy. The bathroom was tiled to the ceiling in white rectangular tiles and had both a walk-in shower and a glorious bathtub. She wished she could take a soak right now, but she had to get to the office. She conjured a purple toothbrush and scrubbed at her teeth and gums and charmed her hair to lie in waves. She also applied a subtle glamour charm under her eyes to hide her limited hours of sleep. She glanced at her watch, panicked, and dashed out of the bathroom and down the steps. The smell of coffee hit her nose, and she looked toward the kitchen. Malfoy was leaning against the counter, coffee cup in hand, and was reading The Daily Prophet. He turned the page but looked up when she approached the kitchen.

"Coffee?" He asked.

She smiled and said, "Thank you, if you hand me a cup I'll pour it." He conjured a tasteful blue ceramic mug and pressed it into her hands. She walked to the stove and filled half the cup with coffee. Draco frowned at the little amount of coffee in the cup. Hermione paid him no mind as she walked in front of him to reach the refrigerator. Draco thought it was hilarious that she insisted that the movers bring her refrigerator. Wizards typically didn't have refrigerators accounting for the fact that they could preserve food with magic. When Draco investigated the house before Harry and Hermione arrived, it took him several minutes to understand what the appliance was.

Hermione opened the fridge with a swift movement and poured cream to the top of the mug. Draco let out a chuckle, that he tried to disguise as a cough, but Hermione saw through him.

"Is something funny?" She gave an unsure smile.

"Not at all." He said with a smirk, "I just wondered if you wanted some coffee with your cup of cream, Minister," he added last minute in an attempt to be formal.

Hermione gave a small smile and looked into her cup, "Coffee reminds me of the war; I don't care for the taste anymore, but I need the caffeine."

Draco sobered and set his cup down on the counter. "Minister, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

Hermione smiled brighter, "It's fine. How could you possibly know that coffee reminds me of sitting in a dreadfully cold tent? And please, don't call me Minister. You can call me Granger, or Hermione if you like."

Draco chose not to say anything back. He didn't feel like he deserved to call her Hermione or even Granger. He just nodded. Hermione looked at the paper that was levitated in front of Draco. "Anything interesting in the paper?"

"Luna Lovegood is releasing a new book about freshwater plimpies."

"I have to admit that I was hard on Luna when I was younger, I never believed any of her claims. I'll have to order the book." She glanced at her watch again and drank a few gulps of her coffee and dashed to the coat rack where her coat was neatly hanging. "Draco, I'd like to leave soon if that's alright with you," but when she looked up he was already next to her sliding his smooth leather jacket. "You wouldn't mind passing my little bag from behind you, would you?" Draco turned around and saw the bag lying by the door. He picked up the small tattered beaded bag from the floor and was surprised by how heavy the little bag weighed. Trying not to look baffled by its weight, he handed the bag to her with as much grace as he could muster. Hermione grabbed her small tattered beaded bag and to Draco's surprise stuck her entire arm into the bag. As she dug around in the bag, Draco could hear the contents clinking and rustling around. It was an extraordinary display of magic. He wondered how much stuff was crammed into the bag but didn't ask. At last Hermione found what she was looking for. She pulled on a knitted hat with strange holes on the sides and crammed it onto her head.

"Ready?"

"Yes, Minister." Hermione shot him a _don't call me minister_ look.

She pulled open the front door and they stepped out into the cold October day. The sight outside was interesting. It appeared that the fidalius charm was not transparent from the outside. An opalescent sheen covered the house and Hermione and Draco looked up in amazement.

"It looks like we are in a giant soap bubble," giggled Hermione. She was ecstatic at the idea.

"It reminds me of rainbow moonstone," Draco breathed. He loved the way the light caught their giant bubble. He looked over at Hermione who was smiling and Draco's heart skipped a beat when a ray of sunshine hit Hermione and cast a rainbow on her skin. She was striking. He turned his head away before she could catch him staring.

"Shall we go?" He held out his arm and she took it tentatively. He drew his wand as they crossed the garden gate. Hermione held her breath as she passed through the bubble as if she wouldn't be able to breathe once she passed from underneath its protection. Draco carefully looked around the golden meadow that surrounded the house. Aside from the dirt road that leads to the house, there was nothing surrounding it but tall yellow grass and a few scattered wild flowers. He preferred it this way, he felt that he had the upper hand and had a clear shot of anyone approaching. He might even go one step closer to transfiguring the grass into a green lawn.

Draco turned on the spot with Hermione's hand gripping his arm with surprising strength. After a few unpleasant seconds, they reappeared in the designated apparition entrance in the Ministry of Magic. Hermione let go of Draco's arm very quickly and stepped off of the platform as fast as their legs would carry them to avoid being squished by other apparitioners. The room was paneled in dark wood that Hermione despised. Hermione always thought that the dark wood was a bit dreary, but she felt it would be a shame to change it. These walls had seen all and never passed judgment on them. She shuddered at the thought. She walked briskly with her nose held high and her back straight as she walked through to the main entrance of the Ministry of Magic. Cameras flashed furiously as Hermione walked up the long entrance to the lifts. This was routine, cameras flashed and voices echoed in the spacious room.

"Minister, do you have any new information about the deaths of Samuel Quahog or Adalard Luzhise?"

Hermione didn't slow her pace as she answered him, "No, I don't. And I dare say that you'll probably know of any new information before I do, Peaks." She shot him a knowing glance and a smile.

A different reporter asked, "Minister Granger, would you like to respond to Egyptian Minister Muhammed Paulzeis' decision to take a leave of absence until the Minister serial killer is caught?"

Hermione squinted at the reporter, she did not recognize him but answered anyway "I respect the Minister of Egypt's decision to take a leave of absence. Officials from our own Ministry have urged me to take similar action and I have declined, but have excepted extra protection." She shot a fleeting glance at Malfoy who was trying to blend in with the crowd. He was scanning furiously for anything out of place and trying to keep up with Hermione at the same time. She finally made it the lifts and Draco rushed in behind her. He had a drop of sweat on his forehead. Hermione froze when she got into the lift. A shiny little beetle with funny markings was flying next to the level one button.

"Rita," she greeted coolly.

In an instant, a colorful mass swirled out from the beetle's body and stood before Hermione and Draco.

"Minister Granger," Rita said back and gave a little bow. The witch had aged since the last time Draco had seen her. She was very pale and her skin was not as young-looking as it used to be.

"Ah and I see Draco is accompanying us." She gave him a little wave with claw-like pink nails. He inclined his head.

Rita looked at Draco, "All of the amateurs try and ambush Minister Granger in the entrance hall, but only the pros know to catch her in the lift."

Draco kept a stony expression; Rita always meant bad news. Draco thought this was a good thing to know, from now on he would always check the lift first before allowing Hermione to enter.

"What can I do for you, Rita?"

She gave a buggish smile, wide eyes shining, "Ah, but isn't it what can I do for you Minister Granger?" Rita waggled her eyebrows. Draco frowned.

The lift clanged and stopped on the Minister's floor and Hermione exited the lift. Rita's heels clicked after her. Draco exited and he walked quickly to catch up with Hermione.

"Let me check your office before you enter it please." Hermione shot him a _is that necessary_ look but caved and nodded her head in agreement. It seemed unlikely that there would be anyone in there, but all the same, he was here to protect her and Draco would do his job thoroughly. Hermione pressed her hand to the office door and it granted Draco access. He looked around with methodical eyes and finding nothing, let the two women in. Hermione walked in and sat down in her big chair and Rita walked in followed by her famous quill, which she had extracted from her handbag, and it trailed Draco's jaw lovingly. He swatted it away. _Vile thing_ Draco thought. He leaned against the wall behind Rita.

Hermione spoke first, "Have you heard anything worth mentioning on your end?"

Rita smirked, "No, but I've been busy buzzing around, Germany is in a state of panic. Their system isn't designed to have a quick successor. They have to hold an election promptly with no one who wants the office,"

She sighed dramatically and sank back into her chair, "And the international press is all frenzied over the Egyptian Minister going into hiding. But, by far, the most interesting development is sitting right in front of me. Who in their right mind made Draco Malfoy the sole bodyguard of Minister Granger?"

Hermione's eyes blazed, "Oh I think you know, Rita,"

Rita moved onto her next question, "Let me guess, Minister, you'd like to corral the press and give them some bones to chew on for a while until the culprit is caught."

"It goes against every bone in my body to hide what is happening out in the world. Media is a crucial part of society and I believe in free speech. However, I would like you to distract them with other news. People are terrified of what is going to happen…if… I don't make it or someone else gets struck down. As you've said before the prophet exists to sell itself, but please find another way to get the prophet to sell. If something else happens, feel free to report it, but please don't cause hysteria. Assure them that I am safe and that our country is secure,"

"I can't argue with that," Rita said, tucking away her quill. Apparently, there was nothing juicy worth writing down. "Any ideas about what we should direct our attention to? Nothing terribly exciting is happening right now."

"I might have one thing to write about, but I need to get permission first." Hermione looked pointedly at Rita. "And I'm sure you'll find something juicy to write about."

"Can I write about you and Malfoy?"

Draco growled, "No."

Hermione agreed, "There's nothing to write about involving us."

Rita chided, "Honey, do you want a distraction or not? I could write an entire book on your intersecting history."

"Don't write a book, Rita, that would be a terrible read."

"Fine, but some articles about the two of you working together would be a great story to run with. It also fuels the thirst for finding the murderer since your protection is one of the most important topics on the table. It kills two birds with one stone,"

Draco growled again, "Skeeter, I will not have you write any more terrible things about me or my family. You've dragged me through the mud so many times I've lost count. Also, the more than that is published about me gives the killer fuel if he tries to catch up with us. It puts the Ministers life in danger."

Rita rolled her eyes, "Relax sweetie, I won't write anything nasty. I'm sure the press saw you get into the lift with Hermione. They'll write even if they don't have answers. They might even conclude that you two are lovers." She pushed her sparkly glasses further up her nose and raised her eyebrows. "I have an influence on those mediocre writers, but ultimately they will still publish regardless if the information is accurate. Let me give the ingredients for a good distraction, and I'll make sure that they don't criticize you pumpkin cake."

"Ok, Rita," Hermione sighed. "Keep it clean, don't criticize Malfoy, and stay broad, and try not to reveal too much about my situation. I would hate for the killer to track me down through the newspaper,"

Draco fumed at Hermione, but when he saw her face, it looked sad. This was a sacrifice for her. Hermione knew that Draco would resent her for her choice, but she thought of the country and reasoned it was better for her to suffer and worry than her people to suffer. Rita looked sad too.

Rita stood up and reached her hand down to touch the Ministers, "Hermione, you are the brightest, most cunning woman I have ever met, aside from myself," she smirked and continued, "and I think you are making a noble sacrifice and I admire you for wanting to shelter your people. I'll keep it sweet for you," Rita left the office in a rush of color after smiling toothily at Draco.

Hermione sighed and looked Draco in the eye, "I'm terribly sorry Malfoy. I have a history with Rita and I have to take what I can get. She is terribly hard to wrangle, and I often struggle to reel her in without accidentally blackmailing her. She is still an unregistered animagus and that's about all I have over her. My hope is that she can use her influence in the prophet to keep the hysteria down, and unfortunately, we're the juiciest bit of news she has." She lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper, "I'm hoping that Ginny and Harry will agree to make their pregnancy public soon and then the press can feast on them for a while. They are practically royalty these days,"

He looked back at Hermione and sighed, "I guess I'll just consider it part of the job, but if Rita drags my mother into it, I'll squish her like the bug she is."

"Fair enough." Noticing that Draco was still standing and starting to look uncomfortable, Hermione transfigured a potted tree in the corner into a desk and chair for Draco. He appreciated the offer, and he admired her excellent craftsmanship, but he didn't comment on it.

"Thanks," he murmured and he sat down facing her.

"Feel free to do anything. You don't have to stay here. I'm perfectly safe here in my office."

"Minister, Potter is paying me around the clock to keep a constant eye on you, and I am taking this task very seriously."

He watched as the minister blushed a tiny bit. "Well if that's how you feel, I think we need to set some ground rules." She looked at Draco as if he was going to object; when he didn't she continued, "Please don't enter my room unless it is of utmost importance-"

Draco interrupted her, "Minister I thought you were in danger. You think I liked bursting into your bedroom in my underwear? I promise I will respect your personal space and possessions,"

"Thank you, Malfoy,"

"Secondly, please, please don't call me Minister, especially now that we have to live together,"

"Ok, noted,"

"Thirdly, and I feel bad for asking this of you, but please be respectful and quiet when we have important visitors. I feel like I hardly need to say it, but there you are."

"Alright," Draco agreed.

"At home don't follow me around, you and I both know that we are perfectly safe."

"I wasn't planning on following you around."

"Good. And I'm sure I'll think of more as they arise."

"Perfect, my turn." Hermione clicked her tongue and Draco continued, "Please remember, min-er Hermione, that I am trying to keep you safe. Please don't try and shrug me off, or lose me, because terrible things could happen if you are left out of my sight for too long."

Hermione's shoulders slumped a little but she nodded in agreement.

"Secondly, do not tell anyone about the Fidalius charm. That house is our greatest protection. If Potter is somehow compromised, we need to be certain of who has access to the house."

"Understandable," Hermione agreed.

"Good, and um, I know that this relationship is a work in progress, but please try to trust me. I know that I have done and said unmentionable things to you, but I am not the same person. I've left all of that in the past and I am truly sorry for all of the harm I have caused you," Draco concluded. He was surprised at himself for apologizing so sincerely all of a sudden.

Hermione's brown eyes gleamed with tears. Draco was at a loss of what to do. He had made the Minister of Magic cry. With a great summon of courage, Hermione whispered, "I forgive you, Draco Malfoy." The words melted his heart. He felt his own eyes grow heavy with tears, and he looked away from her. He felt so liberated by his apology and he longed to reach for her hand, to comfort her in any way, but he thought it would be too much. Draco wanted to be entirely professional. Hermione wiped under her eyes and picked up an eagle quill and pulled the parchment out of her desk drawer. She scribbled for a long minute, but Draco could not see who the letter was addressed to. Hermione drew her wand and with several swishes formed a paper airplane and sent it whizzing out the door. Hermione drew another piece of paper towards her and began to read it. Draco looked around the room in order to avoid staring at the witch. She had several large bookcases crammed with books against the wall to her left. Next to the bookcase was a small drink cabinet which held a water pitcher and several bottles of wine. There was a mirror that atop the drink cabinet, but something was off about it. He stared at it for several minutes trying to figure out what was wrong with it.

Hermione glanced up from her parchment, "Is the mirror bothering you?"

"Something is off about the mirror," Draco murmured, half to himself.

"I'm glad you noticed it right away, you are quite observant. It took me a while to figure it out myself. Kingsley never bothered with it, and anyone before him, aside from Fudge, is dead."

"What is it?"

"It's essentially an escape room."

"It is?" Draco was fascinated by the idea.

"Yes, after careful inspection and research I was able to decipher the ruin on the side. She pointed to some barely discernable markings on the frame. The ruin on the side basically means 'those who seek will not find," and I learned that if I poke it with my wand first, I can walk through the mirror and I end up in a spacious room from which I can apparate out of. My office is so heavily warded that I don't have any way to escape if I need to, but now that I know about the mirror, I feel a lot safer. I feel bad for all of the ministers who didn't know it existed." She trailed off.

Draco was astonished by the idea, it was similar to a vanishing cabinet, but also much more impressive. A secret room inside of a mirror? Draco loved the idea and wished he could acquire one just like it.

"Could you theoretically just hide in the mirror until the threat is gone?"

"Possibly, I'm a little scared to go in the room alone. When I go in that room, I feel like I've fallen down the rabbit hole and that I'll never make it out. It's oddly distorted in there, but you're free to walk in and take look around. You can see my office from the other side."

Draco didn't understand her rabbit expression but understood the feeling of the room just fine, "I'll pass, but thanks for telling me about it. It's good to know it's there."

A knock at the door made Hermione jump. Draco stood up and walked to the door and opened it. A man with a shiny forehead looked at Draco with surprise. Draco had seen this man before around the ministry but did not know his name.

"Er," the man squeaked, "I received a memo from Minister Granger to report to her office at my earliest convenience."

Draco eyed the thin man, and then looked at Hermione and asked for approval with his eyes.

"Come in, Mr. Chote," called Hermione from her desk. Draco moved out of his way and held the door open for him. Mr. Chote stood nervously in front of the empty chair in front of Hermione's desk. Draco smirked at the man's unease. "Please sit down Mr. Chote," Hermione said firmly. Draco sat back down at his own desk. Mr. Chote eyed him nervously.

"Thank you for making time to visit me today." Hermione started. Mr. Chote flashed his eyes to Hermione and then back to Draco. Hermione noticed and spoke, "Mr. Chote this is Auror Draco Malfoy. He's my new security detail." Draco tried to give him a less menacing smile. Mr. Chote flinched and returned his attention to Hermione. Draco wondered what his family could have possibly done to make this man flinch at the sight of him. He was now determined to be extra polite to this man and make him feel more at ease. He looked to Hermione who carried on oblivious to the man's squeamish attitude towards Draco.

"I am hoping to clarify some things regarding some properties that belong to the Ministry. Recently, I discovered that the Ministry owns houses all over the world, though they are barely used. Can you explain to me the reason why we have possession of these houses?"

Mr. Chote cleared his throat, "The houses in question have come into ministry hands in a variety of ways. Some have been seized by the bank, which is an installment of the government, therefore owned by the government, some have been given to us for traveling abroad to other nations, including our houses in Washington D.C., California, and New York and others have been gifted to us by generous families over the centuries." Mr. Chote's eyes darted over to Draco again. Draco would not be surprised if his father, grandfather, or great-grandfather donated houses in order to gain favor in the ministry. He wondered who had owned the house they were staying in before the ministry-owned it.

"How much money do you think that the houses in Europe are worth all together?"

"It is hard to say, without having them appraised, but I would estimate the worth is around three million galleons."

Hermione's jaw dropped. This was worse than she imagined. Millions of galleons were sitting around being wasted on these properties.

"How much do you think the upkeep in these homes costs?"

"All of the upkeep comes out of our budget, but we always end up going over and at last time I checked, we spend about 500 galleons a month between materials and labor."

"How come I never learned about this? I feel that this money could be allocated to other places. I will bring up this matter with my peers, but in the meantime, please put some of these houses up for sale. Especially the duplicates, if we have multiple houses in other countries, sell those ones first. Try to avoid selling houses that were gifts, we wouldn't want to offend anyone."

"I quite agree, Minister, I've been saying for years but other Ministers tend to live a bit more lavishly than you do."

Draco tensed, Mr. Chote's comment wasn't rude, but it wasn't entirely appropriate either. Who was he to comment on Hermione's lifestyle?

"You are dismissed, Mr. Chote." Hermione seemed confused about his comment as well.

Draco spoke up, "Mr. Chote, if it's possible, I would be interested in acquiring the residence in Holyhead. Perhaps I should set up an appointment with you to discuss the matter?"

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy. Stop by my office anytime," he said without stopping or looking at Draco.

The rest of the day passed like this, meetings and more meetings, and the occasional owl. Hermione did not stop to rest or eat, and only when Draco mentioned that it was getting late, did Hermione look up from her pile of parchment and stand to leave. She huffed and mumbled about not getting more stuff done. Draco, who had not had anything to eat aside from a plate of cheese and crackers, had grown crabby and longed to go home. He wondered how Hermione was still able to stand. They exited the lift, walked down the empty entrance hall, and apparated with a crack back home.

A/N: I wonder if you guys recognized the little bit with McGonagall and marking her calendar for Harry's kid's 11th birthday. This isn't original, there is a little post on Tumblr or pinterest that makes light of the idea and I find it hilarious and wanted to include it. I am so happy that you all have started to follow the story. It makes me excited to continue to write! I would really appreciate it if you guys left me a review. What do you guys think of Draco and Hermione's interactions so far? Is it too soft? What would you like to see happen? Thanks,

B


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As soon as Hermione walked into the house, she lit a fire in the fireplace, poured herself a glass of chilled wine, and sank onto the couch with a sigh. "What a long day," she said to no one in particular. Draco went straight to the pantry and began pulling out ingredients to make dinner. He was famished, and would clearly have to start packing lunches if he wanted to keep up with Hermione. He found himself worrying about her health. How could it be healthy to only have a small cup of coffee in the morning? Draco was with her for the entire day and she never stopped for food. By some lucky miracle, Hermione left her office and decided to talk to Harry and Draco was able to steal some cheese and crackers off of Ron's desk. She drank several glasses of water throughout the day, but that didn't make Draco feel any better. He would assume the responsibility of cooking to make sure she ate at least a few decent meals a day. Draco loved to cook. His mother had taught him. When he was at Hogwarts she would send him pastries and sweets that she promised to teach him how to make during summer break.

Draco decided on lasagna paired with fried eggplant, and within minutes, the food was steaming on two plates. Draco walked into the sitting room where Hermione was frowning at a piece of parchment. It appeared that she never stopped working.

"Granger," Draco said softly and he tugged the parchment out of her hands. "I made you some food."

She initially looked surprised, but then her eyes softened and Hermione focused her gaze on Draco and took the plate from his hand, "Thank you," she smiled. "It looks delicious," she added.

He sat on the sofa next to her and dug in. He instantly felt like he had more energy. He looked at Hermione who was pushing her Lasagna around with her fork. Draco sighed, and set his food down on the coffee table, and placed his hands behind his head and leaned back into the sofa, "Let me guess, lasagna reminds you of Potter and Weasley playing wizards chess."

Hermione let out a laugh and replied, "No, it's just that, well, you're being so nice to me,"

"It's just lasagna Granger," Draco said because he didn't know what else to say. Hermione's eyes were still on her plate.

She pressed on, "No it's just that all day and yesterday you have been so kind to me. And this morning you barged in to make sure that I was ok, and I value that. I was really worked up when Harry told me that you were going to be following me around. Harry told me that you had changed; I didn't quite believe it, but I believe him now," She looked like her mouth was acting of its own accord. Her eyes were wide and she looked like she was ready to flee.

"You realize that you saved my life right? Actually, more like three times to be precise," Hermione's brown eyes met Draco's grey ones. She didn't say anything.

"If it wasn't for you, my corpse would be rotting in a shallow grave on the grounds of Azkaban. I owe you my life, and the very least I can do is to protect yours." Draco picked up his plate and fork and popped a bite of zucchini into his mouth, and while it was still full, he cried out, "'And that's the second time we've saved your neck tonight Malfoy!'" and Draco actually let out a laugh. Hermione cracked a smile and Draco beamed at her. "Maybe once I save your life three times we can call it even," He smiled even brighter. Hermione found it highly contagious and smiled warmly at Draco. Hermione was gorgeous when she smiled and Draco felt his mood lift. Draco picked his plate back up and continued to eat. Hermione tentatively took a bite and gave out a small moan at the delicious taste of food. Draco couldn't help but associate the moan with something else, a sexual something, but he forcibly pushed the thought away and reminded himself that it was the Minister for Magic sitting next to him and he wasn't allowed to think that way. Well she is single, Draco mused, and she is rather impressive and beautiful. He snuck a glance at her but she was focused on eating the lasagna in front of her. Draco liked that she was enjoying his food. Draco charmed the radio into life and they sat quietly listening to a Weird Sisters ballad. Hermione set her empty plate on the coffee table and Draco stood and collected her plate and walked to the sink and began rinsing them.

"Thank you for dinner," she called to his back as he walked to the sink.  
Draco gave a big smile that she couldn't see, "You're welcome,"  
Hermione rose, wine glass in hand and said "I think I am going to go take a bath before I go to bed. Is there anything I can do to help you before I go?"  
"Not at all, Min- Granger, have a good night,"  
Hermione smiled at the back of his head and retreated upstairs. Hermione was excited to take advantage of this oversized bath. It could easily fit two people and it looked like it had an enchantment on it that created jets. Hermione first went to her room, which was still packed. She would wait until Saturday to unpack everything. She found her plush bathrobe and her toiletries and walked back to the bathroom and began to fill the tub with steamy water. Hermione used her wand to fill the tub with bubbles and dimmed the lights. She stripped her work outfit off one article at a time and submerged her body in the hot water with a hiss.

She could hear the music playing downstairs and Draco walking around the kitchen directly below her. Draco was humming along and she used the sound to relax. It was truly incredible that Draco had changed his entire attitude. There was a time that Draco would treat her as if she didn't exist. She was thrilled that those days were behind them. She struggled not to think of his grey eyes or his pale chest in the darkness of the bathroom but his body kept slipping to the forefront of her mind. With him being so nice to her it was hard for her not to think of him as attractive. I wonder what he thinks of me? Hermione wondered. Would it be so hard for Malfoy to find me attractive? I shouldn't even be thinking this way, I have only been stuck with him for one whole day and I'm already thinking of him romantically. I need to get laid, she thought hopelessly, but that's clearly not going to happen with Draco watching my every move.

Hermione shaved her legs and hesitated at her crotch. What was the point of shaving there? She did it anyway, citing that she preferred it this way. She rinsed her body in the shower, dried herself with a towel, and took extra care rubbing lotion onto her freshly shaved areas and put on her bathrobe. She opened the door and began walking to her room. She looked down to secure her robe and turned to her room and instantly bumped into something. A big, solid something. She stumbled back and almost fell to the ground but Draco, she realized, caught her arms just in time.

"Oh, sorry I wasn't looking where I was going," Hermione said breathlessly.

"It's alright," said an uncomfortable Draco. Her robe had split open for the tiniest second and had revealed a beautiful sight underneath. Clearly, she had not noticed because she was acting as if nothing was wrong. Draco could instantly feel his length pressing up against his trousers. He needed to escape before he did anything rash, like trying to kiss her or slide that robe off her. He let go of her arms.

"Goodnight Granger," Draco said as he stepped around her quickly, mostly so she couldn't see his desire for her.

"Goodnight," Hermione said with burning cheeks. She could be so clumsy at times. She scolded herself for not saying something more interesting than 'goodnight'.

Draco walked into his room as quickly as he could and shut the door behind him with a snap. He was breathing hard and was trying to distract himself from Hermione's beautiful breast that had peeked out to give him a show. He groaned in longing. Draco was glad that she had not noticed that her robe had slipped. Draco collapsed in bed with his clothes on and tried as hard as he could not to think about Hermione. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep.

Daily Prophet- London

The Odd Couple – By Rita Skeeter

Thursday October 5

It would seem that the most interesting development since the death of President Samuel Quahog and German Minister for Magic Adalard Luzhise is with our own Minister for Magic Hermione Granger. Minister Granger told reporters yesterday that she has outright refused to go into hiding while this Minister killer is on the loose. Harry Potter, the head of the Auror department and good friend of Minister Granger, asked Minister Granger to 'take a vacation' until the situation was under wraps after Minister Luzhise was discovered dead in his home. Minister Granger, who is known for being incredibly stubborn when it comes to both her personal life and her lawmaking (turn to page 17 for more details) told Potter that she 'was more than capable of handling herself' but did say she would increase security in her home and around the office. The Daily Prophet was asked not to go into detail about the security for the Minister's safety, but did learn that Draco Lucius Malfoy, 22, a prestigious Auror, has taken the job to be the Minister's personal Auror. Malfoy, who was cleared of all charges four years ago by the Wizengamont on the testimony of Granger herself, was in Potter's eye's 'the best man for the job'. Witches and wizards from around the country are outraged at the appointment. Ernie Macmillan, a Hogwarts pal of Granger's, wrote to me from his home in Canterbury and revealed, "I cannot believe Harry Potter would trap Hermione Granger with Draco Malfoy. Malfoy was awful to all three of them [Potter, Weasley, and Granger] in school. Malfoy once shot a spell at Hermione that caused her teeth to grow the size of small cantaloupes! This must be a rouse!"

I, Rita Skeeter, can in fact report that Draco Malfoy is not a rouse. Upon my visit to Minister Granger yesterday, I was delighted to find the pair tucked away in Granger's office. It was evident that the pair was getting along just fine and I even picked up the sense that there was a little bit of tension; if you know what I mean. Perhaps it was just the two getting used to one another, but I think it might be something more. We know that Minister Granger is recently single after a brutal breakup with Auror Ron Weasley and have discovered that Malfoy hasn't had anyone permanent since Pansy Parkinson (now Goyle). Perhaps the Minister ought to consider Malfoy as a worthy candidate considering that they are going to be seeing a lot of each other….

Draco slammed the newspaper down onto the kitchen counter in disgust. He could not read any more. His own face, looking mischievous, was staring back up at him and he felt betrayed by his picture self. Why did he have to look so shifty? How do photographers even get photos of him like this? He could not place a timestamp on the photo. Hermione's picture was better, she was looking stoic on her podium for speeches and still managed to look beautiful in her pantsuit and stern expression. It was six in the morning and Draco had already showered and shaved and was now making breakfast for Hermione and himself if he could get her to eat it. He could hear her alarm going off and the eventual thumps of her feet on the floor above him. He wondered what Hermione would think of the Skeeter article. Skeeter did keep it clean and sweet, but still had a gossipy tone and still picked at Draco. He figured that it could be a lot worse, she didn't mention that he was an ex-Death Eater or that his father murdered and tortured countless muggles. The part he hated most was that Skeeter was right, there was definitively some sort of tension, especially now. Draco thought of Hermione's body for the thousandth time in last ten hours. There was no way to un-see what he had seen the night before and now he had to spend every waking moment with the woman that now haunted his dreams.

Last night, Draco had dreamed of Hermione and it had started out fine; she was wearing her fuzzy bathrobe and was smiling at Draco. The light was dancing behind her and it turned her brown hair honey colored. Looking at her was like breathing fresh air. He could even smell her; fresh lavender and honey. Hermione wasn't saying anything, just twirling her body in front of him and running her hands over her soft curls.

"Draco," she cooed and she smiled.

He reached out to touch her and she recoiled. He instantly jerked his hand back from her and the whole scene had changed. She was now screaming in bursts on the dark, cold floor. Her lip was red with blood and her arm was saturated in it as his aunt stood over her screaming at her. "CRUCIO! CRUCIO! CRUCIO!" Draco wanted to scream too, but his mother was gripping his arm tightly and he knew to be silent, or it would be him withering on the floor. He couldn't take his eyes off of the screaming girl no matter how hard he tried. He didn't believe that the girl in front of him deserved to die. Yes, he had already written her off as dead. That's how little hope he had that day. It was the darkest day of his life and was still tainting his dreams to this day.

Draco jumped when Hermione entered the kitchen. She jumped a little at his reaction and then she looked at his face. He was paler than the Bloody Baron and he had dark purplish shadows under his eyes. Hermione gave him a sad look of understanding, "No sleep?" She looked tired herself.

Draco didn't mean to snap at her, but it slipped out before he could stop it, "You don't sleep through the night when you've seen the shit I've seen Granger,"

She looked surprised at his tone and raised her eyebrows, "I guess not," and she walked to the fridge and pulled it open. She grabbed the cream and proceeded to the stove where the coffee was sitting. She poured a little bit of coffee in her cup and filled it to the top with cream. The room was silent except for the sound of Hermione stirring her coffee with her spoon. She turned from the room, determined to give this broody Malfoy some space. Her eyes caught sight of newspaper on the counter in front of him. Against her better judgment, she reached in front of him and took the paper. He averted his eyes.

"Did she keep her word?" Hermione breathed. She hoped that Rita hadn't gotten carried away.

Draco sighed, "I guess," and shrugged. Hermione scanned the article and deposited the article back on the table.

"So, her grand plan is to paint us as lovers to divert the public eye."

"Genius," Draco replied. He didn't give the impression that he thought the idea was genius at all.

"I'm sorry I dragged you into it," Hermione said quietly. She put her mug in the sink.

"It's fine," Draco said and walked to coat rack where his leather jacket was hanging. He didn't want to talk to her because he had watched her being tortured in his dreams last night, but she thought it was over the article. He could handle bad publicity, but reliving Hermione screaming on the floor was causing his brain to pound. Hermione put on her jacket too and grabbed her bag from a hook. Draco headed for the door and Hermione followed silently. Draco opened the door and were surrounded by the same dazzling rainbow light. Hermione let out a big sigh of air at the pretty sight and Draco melted a little, and remembered the dream Hermione recoiling from his touch. Draco thought, _Hermione could never love me, she could never even tolerate me._ His hands balled into fists.

"Draco," Hermione said in nearly the same tone as her dream self. He stopped to look at her expectantly. "I'm sorry," she said clearly

How dare she? The last thing Draco wanted was the girl who saved his life to apologize to him. It made him feel like he owed her even more. Draco grew angry, "Don't ever apologize to me, Granger. I'm not mad because of the stupid article." And he started to walk again.

Hermione, who was baffled by his behavior, stood rooted to the spot, "Malfoy, if something is bothering you, you can tell me,"

 _No, I can't,_ thought Draco. _It would humiliate and terrify you._ Draco struggled to regain his professional manner. "It's alright Granger, one more cup of coffee should cheer me up," he lied. Granger took the lie smoothly but her look of calculation did not diminish. Draco bent his elbow for her to take it as they crossed the protection of the Fidalius charm. The tall grass swayed easily in a soft breeze but before Hermione could take in its full beauty, Draco had apparated them to the Ministry of Magic.

Draco and Hermione's day had started just like the day before. Reporters waited in the lobby to ambush the Minister but also fired questions at Draco who profiled each and every one of them. Hermione summoned people to her office or had appointments. Draco, who had been in such a bad mood this morning, had forgotten to pack a lunch suddenly stood up at two o'clock when Hermione's last appointment left the room.

Hermione looked at him uncertainly. Draco hadn't said much to her today. "Are you going somewhere?" She asked him.

"Yes, and so are you. You might want to grab your coat." Draco put his own jacket on and waited. He expected Hermione to put up a fight, but she put on her jacket and grabbed her bag.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to lunch," Draco said matter-of-factly. His own nerve surprised him. Hermione stared at him. Draco wished right away that he had said 'we are going to lunch' instead of 'I'm taking you to lunch' so it didn't sound like he was trying to take her out. He walked to the door and held it open for her. She didn't object, but she looked longingly at a stack of paperwork on her desk, clearly battling some internal battle, but decided to walk through the open door. The halls were quiet with the occasional clack of Hermione's heels or office chatter coming from various doors that they passed. Lunch was over and everyone had returned back to work and Draco planned it this way. He didn't want to be bothered by the press or be gawked at in the street by the public. He held out his elbow for Hermione to take and she took it without a second thought, almost airily. Her thoughts were clearly somewhere else.

He took them to apparition room and whipped them to Diagon Ally. The streets were quiet here too, most of the shoppers had finished by this point in the day and Hogwarts was already in school so there was no foot traffic from parents and children school shopping. Hermione was tense with anticipation but softened when she saw that the town was nearly empty. It reminded her of when Lord Voldemort was powerful and people kept away from wizarding communities. She shuddered and Draco felt her hand slip out of his elbow.

"This way," Draco guided, holding his wand ready at his side. Draco took off at brisk pace and Hermione followed behind him. Draco led them two blocks east of Diagon ally and walked into a French restaurant titled 'La Merise' that was decorated with vines spilling out from the front of the building. Hermione had walked past this restaurant many times but had never entered. It was small and cozy on the inside and smelled delicious. The witch behind the podium smiled when she saw Draco.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy," the witch said in an attempt to be suave. Hermione saw through her; she clearly had a crush on Malfoy. "A table for one?" Draco internally flinched, it was true that he usually came here alone, but he hadn't wanted Hermione to know.

Draco recovered instantly, "Actually, I'd like a table for two today," and he took a small step to his left to reveal Hermione behind him. The witch instantly stood a little taller and cleared her throat. "Good afternoon, Minister,"

Hermione smiled at the witch and answered, "Good afternoon." The witch clearly had not expected to receive an answer and seemed pleased. She took two menus from a pile and kindly said, "This way please," and walked with her back ramrod straight to a table in a secluded corner. If Hermione faced with her back to the entrance, no one would even notice that she was in the building. Draco beckoned for her to slide into the booth with her back facing the entrance just like she had planned. Malfoy clearly was a person who thought ahead and calculated.

"Your waitress will be right with you," the witch said. Hermione could tell that the witch was bursting with excitement. It happened sometimes when Hermione was out in public. Some people handled it better than others. With a nervous glance at Hermione, the hostess walked away. Hermione picked up her menu and started to read all of the different items. Draco didn't bother to pick up his menu, instead, he watched Hermione with interest. She had small dark circles under her eyes that were slowly getting darker as her glamour charm wore off. Her dark eyes met his grey ones, "So do you come here often?"

"Yes," Draco said propping his head on the table with his hand. "I live not too far from here, well at least I used to," and he gave a smirk. Hermione wondered why he was smirking. He added, "They have a delicious bouillabaisse that would rival Hogwarts',"

"That's what I was going to get! It's one of the only French dishes that I like," And Hermione smiled a smile that was worthy of her dream self in Draco's eyes. It made Draco smile and then he remembered that they were out in public and that he needed to be keeping an eye on their surrounds. His smile was gone as fast as it had come and his eyes scanned carefully. Nothing looked out of place in the restaurant and as if their waitress had been watching them, she approached and greeted Draco by his first name and turned expectantly to Hermione.

"Is there anything that I can get you, Minister?" She said innocently.

"Yes, please. I'll have the bouillabaisse," She said professionally. Everything Hermione did gave an air of professionalism. Draco smirked.

The waitress turned to Draco and said, "Two orders of bouillabaisse then?" Draco nodded. The waitress did a sort of half-bow/curtsy to Hermione and then walked to the kitchen.

Draco turned his attention back to Hermione, who looked lost in thought, her eyes slightly out of focus. Before he knew what he was doing he asked, "What are you thinking about?" Again, Draco was surprised at his own nerve.

She let out a big sigh and looked Draco in the eye, "I'm thinking about dragons," and let out another sigh. Draco arched his eyebrow. He had caught her interest and Hermione noticed. "Did you know that there are close to 300 dragons in captivity in Great Britain? They mostly guard treasure or are used for manual labor and there are no standards as to how they are treated. I'm trying to abolish the use of them in these labor camps and as pets but it's not easy. Even though dragons are large, they can be in the most remote places. The dragon that we rescued from Gringotts was in terrible condition, it had reptilian mange and had never seen the light of day." Draco thought she looked a little weepy.

"You mean the dragon that you stole?"

Hermione looked affronted, "We did not steal that dragon, it wanted to come with. As a matter of fact, it actually helped us escape by carving out the walls with fire,"

Draco smirked again, "Semantics. You stole the dragon. What was that like?"

"It was terrifying. We rode on the dragon for miles and miles and we had to jump off the dragon into a freezing lake from at least fifty feet up. Its something I'll never forget." She smiled remembering how they had laughed that they had managed to escape Gringotts on a dragon. The boys' laughter rang in her ears and before she could think about what happened after that fateful day, she asked Draco a question, "Was your vault guarded by the dragon?"

Draco scowled, "No, it isn't as far down. It's still one of the most heavily guarded vaults but apparently, my great-great-great grandfather became violently sick after riding in the carts every time so he requested that the vault be moved closer to the surface and that's fine with me. I don't feel good in those carts either."

And then Draco remembered something and his face lit up, "Aha! In my trial, you said that you stole the dragon! You said it yourself that you stole the dragon so you can't say that the dragon wanted to come with now."

Hermione looked a little uncomfortable thinking about Draco's trial, "I was scrambling for something to say and that's just what popped out,"

Draco backpedaled, "It's alright, Granger, I'm eternally grateful that you spoke up for me that day, even if you don't believe that you stole the dragon," The conversation had suddenly gone back to serious and it made Draco feel uneasy. _Why did I even mention my trial?_ _Can I ever talk to Hermione without bringing up something terrible?_ Hermione cleared her throat and looked at the waitress who was walking with two large dishes full of steaming bouillabaisse.

"Here you go, Minister," the girl smiled. "And here you are, Draco, let me know if there is anything else that I can get you," She said to the both of them.

Before Hermione could take a bite, Draco took his wand that was sitting on the table and muttered an incantation over Hermione's dish. The dish glowed a bright white for a second and then went back to its original color.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, I had to check for poisons," Draco informed.

"Malfoy, no one is going to poison me," Hermione argued.

"It's harmless to check," Draco argued back.

"It's just plain silly,"

"Hermione, one of your best friends was poisoned in school because he didn't check to see if it was poisoned," Draco said, trying to finalize his point.

Hermione looked outraged and she raised her voice, "He was poisoned because of you! You were the one that poisoned that mead! Ronald could have died and… and everything would be different," She had picked up her fork to eat but set it back down with a look of disgust. The restaurant which was empty aside from two women and the staff who were all craning their necks to get a better look at them. Draco shot daggers at them and they turned away.

Draco paused for a moment, apparently, Hermione was waiting for a response, "Hermione, I am not the same person that I once was. I am not asking you to forgive me, but just please know that I am not the same person. I was never really that person," Draco felt like he was going in circles with Hermione, up and downs in every conversation.

Hermione didn't reply, but she did nod and picked her fork back up. After she chewed a few bites she said, "I've already forgiven you, but don't pretend like it wasn't you who did stuff like that throughout the war. Be real with me and don't deny the past."

"Alright, Hermione. I'll be real and I won't deny the past," Draco said as he read her face. She seemed to think that this was a genuine answer and together they ate their meal in comfortable silence.

A/N: Hi all! What did you guys think? Draco ends up being pretty moody but it is Draco and Hermione we are talking about. They have a lot of stuff to work through before they can become friends or lovers. I would really appriacate it if you left me a review and thank you to everyone who has followed the story so far!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other characters.

When Draco and Hermione went home that evening, they were on good terms. The glow of the Fidalius charm cheered them and sent them talking about the inner workings of the ministry and Hermione started drilling Draco about how he felt about upcoming laws and policies that already existed.

"How do you feel about goblin relations?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you a thing about goblins other than that they can be quite knifing gits."

"See, this is the problem!" Hermione said exasperated, "People assume that all goblins are out to get our gold, or take back what belongs to them. It's a vicious cycle and I'm not sure where I should even begin!"

Three sharp knocks on the front door cut Hermione off. For a fleeting moment, she looked scared. Draco whipped his wand out of his pocket so fast that green sparks made burn marks on the beautiful wood floors. Hermione drew her wand too, but she knew that it must be Harry.

"State your business," Draco said in a strong voice.

"It is I, Harry James Potter, here to see Minister Hermione Jean Granger."

Hermione stood up and walked over to the front door. She peeked through the eyepiece and saw Harry standing there, looking cold. She opened the door.

"Hermione you have to ask him a question," Draco said, wand still raised.

"Harry, when the mountain troll came into the girl's bathroom in our first year, what did you and Ron do to stop the troll from attacking me?"

Harry snorted, "It's a miracle we made it out alive. I stuck my wand up its nose, by accident, and Ron used Wingardium Leviosa to hit it over the head with its own club. Did I ever tell you that we saw the troll go into the bathroom so we turned the key in the door and locked it in there? We thought we were so clever and we realized after we heard you scream that it was the girl's bathroom we had just locked the troll in and then we came to rescue you,"

Hermione burst out laughing, "You've never told me that! In all the times that we retold that story you guys never mentioned that you locked the troll in there with me!"

Harry gave a shrug and shivered. He was still on the porch. "Oh sorry Harry, come on in," and Harry walked into the cozy living room with Hermione's cozy fire licking the logs in the fireplace.

"Good evening Draco," Harry said and Draco responded with a good evening in return. Harry turned back to Hermione, "Well, Ginny told me that she told you that we're having a baby. She was worried that the letter got intercepted when she didn't get a reply from you,"

"Oh Harry I am so sorry, I have been so incredibly busy it slipped my mind. I am so excited for you two and please tell Ginny how happy I am for her. I can even send a note with you tonight to give her my congratulations." Draco noticed that her smile did not quite reach her eyes. There was a sadness there, but Draco could not understand what it might be. Even Harry noticed that she looked a little sad.

"That sounds great. And I have some other news too." Harry gave a big cocky smile and said, "Grimmauld Place is finally ready to open!"

Hermione's eyes lit up and she gave a genuine smile this time. "That's fantastic, were you able to get Mrs. Black off the wall?"

"Yes, thank god, it took two curse breakers and Ron and me to make a strong enough counter-curse to remove her. She was so mad," Harry looked scared at the thought.

"What are you going to do with her?"

Harry rubbed his forehead, "Technically, Teddy is the youngest relation, so it could go to him, but he's only three and I doubt he wants it. He covers his ears any time he walks past it and his hair turns red." Harry turned to Malfoy, "You are second youngest, so you might want to take it for the historical value I suppose, but she's a real piece of work. Best left alone,"

Draco was trying to keep up, "I'm sorry, is it a portrait?"

"Yes, it's a portrait of Walburga Black, the mother of Sirius Black hanging in the Black Family home. It was hung next to the front door and for as long as I've known Mrs. Black has shouted insults at every person she lays her eyes on. If she wasn't so vile, I'd leave her there, but with fragile children, I doubt it would go over well."

Draco was so lost. "I don't think I want a madwomen portrait, but my mother might like her for our room of portraits in the manor. I can write home and ask." Draco shrugged, "What are you doing with Grimmauld Place?"

Hermione chimed in, "Number 12 Grimmauld Place is going to become the first magical orphanage in Great Britain. Harry and Ginny will be the deans, and there will be a full-time staff to tend to the children. So far it is just two children, Teddy Tonks and Eliana Boot, but we think that it is a necessary step. We think that over time we will start to receive orphaned children from around the globe once people hear about us."

Harry looked at Hermione "I'd like you to give a speech Hermione for the grand opening."

Hermione smiled, "I think I can do that. When is the opening?"

"Its next Monday at six sharp. I would really appreciate it if you could get there early. Ginny will probably be frantic,"

"Everything will go just fine. You two have done so well and I am so proud of you for taking this on."

"Thanks, Hermione. I should probably get going," Harry said. "Ginny has been rather needy all of a sudden,"

Hermione laughed, "Maybe it's because she has tiny Potter-Weasley growing inside of her? Think of all of the stuff you got into when you were kids and now you are infusing those genetics together? I'm terrified," She laughed again and Harry joined in with her. Harry opened the front door, still chuckling, and bade them each goodnight.

Hermione sat down on the couch and Accio-ed a bottle of wine and a glass to her as soon as Harry left. Draco watched her as he cut vegetables for tonight's dinner. She poured a healthy measure and took a sip.

"Would you like some wine Malfoy?"

"I'm alright thanks," Draco said, turning his back to her to tend to the chicken cooking on the stove.

"You don't have to cook for me you know," Hermione called to him.

Draco turned back to her, "I'm not doing this for you, well at least entirely for you. I'm trying to save my neck. You hardly eat and it wouldn't do for you to die of starvation after all the effort everyone has put into keeping you out of harm's way. And, I am very accustomed to eating three square meals a day and I'd like to keep it that way,"

Hermione laughed, "You sound like Ron, he never liked going hungry either." She stood up and walked over to the stove to stand next to Draco.

"Do you know how to cook?" Draco asked and looked over at her.

"I can boil wild mushrooms and if I have a cookbook I do alright with other things," Hermione said looking embarrassed.

"Classic Granger, using a book to figure it out," Draco looked at her to gauge her reaction.

"Don't undermine books, they can be incredibly useful," Hermione said defensively.

"They should have tossed you in Ravenclaw. They would have eaten you up,"

"I wonder how different things would be," Hermione wondered aloud, "I would probably be dead." A still silence fell in the kitchen.

Draco set down the spoon he was using to stir the chicken, "Don't say that Hermione. You would have always found a way to be with Potter and Weasley."

"I think being a Gryffindor gives people a lot of false courage or at least courage they didn't know they had. I think we all tried a little harder to be brave because we were Gryffindors. If I would have ended up in Ravenclaw I don't think I would have been brave through it all and I probably would have gone to the ministry to be registered as a muggleborn and ended up in Azkaban," She said with a lump caught in her throat. Hermione had really been letting her walls down of late.

Draco wanted to reach out to touch her arm but he didn't want her to recoil like she had in his dream. He hoped that his words would be enough, "Hermione, not even a million time turners could change your destiny. You and Potter and Weasley were brought into this world to save us all from the Dark Lord and ourselves. There's no way that Potter and Weasley could have survived without you. Potter talks about you all the time and tells us all how you were the who kept your head in a crisis. Weasley is always moaning and groaning about how he wishes he still had you." Draco added the last bit grudgingly. He did not want Hermione to take Ron back. He didn't think that she would want to take him back.

Hermione recovered herself and gave a watery smile, "Thank you, there are things I wish I could change, but it's not healthy to dwell on them."

"I agree," Draco said and he tossed the chopped vegetables in with the chicken. Hermione took a sip of her wine.

Her tone changed, she seemed to be cheered after getting that off of her chest. "I think I'll donate a library to the Children's House. I should place an order at Flourish and Blotts and she created a piece of parchment and quill out of thin air and began to write down names of books. Draco caught sight of the first title on the list. _A Revised History of Hogwarts_ was scrawled in Hermione's perfect handwriting.

" _A Revised History of Hogwarts_?" Draco questioned. "Who wrote that?"

"I did. Batilida Bagshot tended to ignore the nastier aspects of the school, like the fact that Hogwarts enslaves around 100 house elves to this day and calls the chamber of secrets a bunch of baloney. The one time I did meet her, I was excited to talk to her about it and it turned out her body was being inhabited by Nagini and it all went to hell very quickly." She said all of this in one breath and huffed when she finished.

"Is it published yet?"

"It's currently being edited. It's been a lengthy process. I didn't add any new material about the second time the chamber was opened or anything. I'm also almost finished with my account of everything that we did at Hogwarts and during the war. I'm probably going to get a lot of ridicule for it but I think it's a necessary tale to tell."

"I can't wait to read it," Draco tried to say encouragingly. He guessed that his role in the book wouldn't be a positive one.

"I don't think you'll like it. I mention you from time to time and its rarely nice things, but in the end, you have a redeeming moment." Hermione admitted.

Draco cringed at some of the things he had said and done to Hermione. _I guess I'll just have to swallow my lumps._

"That's alright. I'm pretty excited to hear about all the trouble you guys got into. Did Harry really defeat the troll by sticking his wand up his nose?"

"Absolutely, but Ron really deserves the credit. I had been crying in the bathroom because Weasley had been making fun of me for beating him at a spell and after he said to Harry, 'She's a nightmare, honestly. No wonder she hasn't got any friends!' and I cried in the bathroom for the rest of the day. The troll came in, apparently, Harry and Ron locked it in there thinking they were real heroes and before you know it, Harry was riding around on its back and Ron was using the spell he'd made fun of me for to save my life," Hermione smiled. She took another sip of wine and refilled her glass.

"Wow. That book is going to be walking off shelves," Draco said, pouring the stir fly onto two separate plates. He handed one to Hermione who conjured two forks. They sat down together at the bar that looked out to the living room,"

"I hope that people still think of me as the same person when its over. I lied to Professor McGonagall about why I was in the bathroom that day and I hope that she doesn't think I'm a liar."

"After everything you've done for her? I don't think so." And Draco took his first bite and consequently started panting because the dish was very hot. Hermione giggled. Draco cast an aguamenti charm directly into his mouth to relieve his burned skin. Hermione giggled even louder. "What? It's really hot!" And Draco laughed along with her. They finished dinner with a little chatter about Hogwarts and Headmistress McGonagall.

When Hermione bade Draco goodnight some time later, her heart was in a flutter. They had managed an entire conversation without hitting sensitive spots. Hermione felt bad that she was so touchy of late. Perhaps things could work out between them. Draco was thinking the same thing as he climbed into bed that night. Her lips were stained darker with wine and it made her so appealing. Once he accidentally leaned in close to her while he reached for the salt and instead of backing away, she held her ground and they nearly brushed noses. Draco thought that if he gone just a bit farther, he could have kissed her. He knew not to push his luck. Hermione went to take a bath and Draco imagined what it would be like to walk in on accident just to see her beautiful body again. His penis grew hard at the thought, but instead of trying to push the thoughts away he locked his door and thought of Hermione while he pleasured himself. Once he came, her name on his lips, he cleaned himself and felt guilty that he had just jerked off to the Minister of Magic. He heard Hermione rise from her bath and exit the bathroom for her room. He wished that he could go in there and do the deed for real but admitted to himself that he would probably never have chance to do it. He fell asleep to the thought that he had at least got to see a sneak peek of her hidden beauty.

Draco slept better than he had the night before but when he woke up in the morning. He wished he could have had a bit of a lie-in. He rose from bed in a good mood and proceeded to the bathroom. He showered and fixed his blonde hair in the usual way and headed downstairs to start the coffee and make. As he passed Hermione's door he was that it was ajar and that she had unpacked her room. Her bed was empty and he expected her to be downstairs. He walked through the living room and entered the kitchen and she wasn't there. He checked the little bathroom and it was empty too. Draco's hear started to beat a little faster. The house was spacious, each room was well proportioned, but there weren't that many rooms. Draco remembered that there was a little laundry room off of the hallway that lead to the back door. He walked into it and burst the door open with his wand. To his horror, the room was empty.

He called out, "Hermione?" There was no answer.

Again he called out, this time louder, "Hermione? Where are you?" Still no answer.

Draco bellowed, "HERMIONE!" He paused for a minute to hear her reply but none came. "HERMIONE? WHERE ARE YOU?"

Draco tore back into the kitchen to check again and then he thundered up the stairs and burst into Hermione's bedroom. It was empty. He opened her closet, nothing but clothes and an outrageous stack of books. He checked the bathroom and his bedroom with no luck. Draco was now positively frantic, he pulled out his wand and cast, "Hominem Revelio" and when nothing happened he knew that he was in the house alone. He sprinted back down the stairs "HERMIONE," he yelled again.

He blasted open the front door with his wand and yelled again at the top of his lungs, "HERMIONE! HERMIONE!" and to his delight, her heard her voice answer back, distantly. "I'm over here, Malfoy!" Draco looked up at the sound but he could not see her. He followed the voice around the edge of the house. She was perched on a chair with a little table in front of her. She smiled at him and gave a little wave. She was already dressed, somewhat casually, and had a very long roll of parchment in front of her.

Draco was fuming, his good mood entirely ruined.

"Good morning," she said pleasantly.

He didn't even bother to greet her, "Do you know how fucking worried I was Granger?!"

Hermione looked taken aback. She started to speak but Draco started on her, "Could you not hear me screaming at the top of my lungs just now?" Hermione shook her head no. "I called for you about 100 times just now! I thought you had gotten kidnapped or something!" Draco physically exhausted now sank onto the grass in defeat.

"Hermione, I get if you want your space and freedom, but please, I beg on my hands and knees," He actually moved to his knees and shook his hands together, "Please just tell me that you are going outside, even if it wakes me up or if I'm taking a shower or anything. Your safely is that important,"

Hermione was about to start on him and tell him that he didn't need to follow her around, but she had agreed not to ghost him. She softened, "I… I'm really sorry Malfoy. I didn't realize that I wouldn't be able to hear you if you called."

"Yeah me either. As a matter of fact, it makes me a little nervous. If you screamed at the top of your lungs outside I wouldn't be able to hear you inside. We'll have to ask Harry if he knows anything about it," Draco rose from the ground and looked at Hermione. "Are you planning to go to work today?" Draco asked, hoping that the answer was no.

"I don't have to be to the ministry until ten. I have to attend a hearing at 12:00, so if you want you could go back to sleep," Hermione said to him.

"That sounds wonderful, but there are things I could do while we're at home," Draco said. He needed to write a letter to his mother and finish unpacking his room. If he had time, he would take a nap before they started their day.

"Ok, well you're welcome to join me," she said. Draco nodded and went back inside. Hermione stared longingly at him from behind. She wished that he would come back out to join her.

Twenty minutes passed and Draco returned with a tray of eggs, bacon, pancakes and pumpkin juice. Hermione's eyes grew wide. It had been so long since she had a good breakfast like this. Her mouth began to water with anticipation.

Draco set down the tray in front of her and handed her an empty plate. "This looks delicious," she said.

"Thanks," and Draco conjured a chair for himself facing her. He lifted a pancake onto her plate followed by two strips of bacon and some eggs and then did the same for himself. Without saying anything else he dug in. Hermione did the same. She looked at Draco and studied him. He had impeccable table manners and he seemed much more relaxed than he had been yesterday morning. There had been nothing in the prophet about the pair today. They finished in silence and Draco took Hermione's plate inside. Draco thought it was nice that he had someone to share meals with every now and then.

Draco then sat down to write a letter to his mother, who had written to him right before he had to move. He pulled out her letter.

 _Dearest Draco,_

 _I am so pleased that you have been chosen to protect Minister Granger. I know that she will be safe in your hands should she need it. Things are busy around the manor. I have Gladys Gudgeon over for tea several times a week and her lovely daughter, Messioa, occasionally comes as well. I would love for you to meet her, but I understand that you must be very busy at work. I would love to hear more about what you might do if you end up guarding the minister. Hermione Granger is a fine girl and we owe her much, so promise me that you will be civil and saint-like towards her. I'm sure you don't need reminding, but she did save you from the worst fate. I would love the chance to meet her formally, perhaps you can bring her by the manor? You told me as a child once that she loves books and I'm sure she would love our library. I hope to hear from you soon._

 _Love,_

 _Mum_

Draco knew that no doubt, his mother was trying to set him up with Messioa Gudgeon, but that was never going to happen. He was sure that she must be a respectable pureblood woman, but he was tired of the same old same old. Draco wanted someone with nerve, who was outspoken, courageous and smart. The girl he was thinking of walked through the front door. Draco was sitting at the bar that looked out to the living room. He was doomed. There was no way that Hermione would ever fall for him. He might as well meet up with this Messioa girl.

Draco started scratching on the parchment with his quill:

 _Dear Mother,_

 _It has been an extremely eventful week and I am sorry that I have not written to you until now. As I am sure you saw, German Minister Adalard Luzhise was discovered dead in his home. Right after we heard the news, Harry Potter appointed me to Minister Granger's personal Auror. I had only a few hours to pack my belongings and meet the Minister in a secure location. I am sorry that I cannot reveal much more than that. Surprisingly, Granger and I have been getting along alright. Living together has gone more smoothly than I would have ever imagined. I actually find that I like her company. I think she likes mine too. Maybe perhaps I could see you at the grand opening of the Children's House, an orphanage Potter has opened, this Monday. I am planning on donating a large sum of money to the cause. As I am being paid to watch Granger's every move, I am not sure when the next time I will be able to see you, if not at the grand opening. I miss you and I hope that you are well._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Draco_

He would send the owl from work instead of his own to be more inconspicuous. Hundreds of owls were deploying from the ministry by the hour so there was a small chance the letter would be intercepted. Draco moved upstairs to unpack the boxes he had brought along. With a few waves of his wand, he had most things tucked into drawers and arranged how he wanted them. His room felt so much more like home. He had a large bed with two nightstands on either side, a tall wardrobe opposite his bed and comfortable leather chair with an ottoman in the corner. As a last finishing touch, he tied his old Slytherin scarf to his bedpost.

With two hours until they needed to leave Draco sank into his comfortable bed and fell back asleep.

"Draco," Hermione whispered to Draco as she tried to gently shake him awake. He looked so peaceful. "Draco," she said again. She slipped his wand out of his hand just in case he was jumpy when he woke up. She shook him again. "Draco, wake up,"

"Hermione," he said, his eyes still shut. Hermione blushed at the sound of her name on his lips. She sat down on the edge of Draco's bed.

She tried shaking him a little harder. "Malfoy, we have to leave soon,"

"Hermione… so beautiful," Draco said and he rolled onto his side closer to her. Hermione was beet red now. She was obviously flattered, but tremendously embarrassed too. Did Draco really like her? She was curious what he would say next, but his eyes finally flashed open and he sat bolt upright when he saw that Hermione was perched on the very edge of his bed. He looked a little disoriented and a little sad. Had he been dreaming about Her? Had his dream been good?

"I'm really sorry to wake you Malfoy, but we must get going,"

"Of course, I'm sorry that I kept you waiting,"

His dream had been so good and it was incredible that even when he woke up the dream had not ended. Hermione looked so tempting sitting on his bed like that. He had a strong desire to reach over to her and stroke her face. She stood up and walked out of the room without saying anything else.

He slapped his face a few times to pull himself together. Hermione was the Minister of Magic. Hermione was his boss's boss. She was a war heroine. And the best and worst part was that she was beautiful and absolutely fascinated Draco and was entirely out of his league. He put on his shoes and descended the stairs where Hermione was putting on her scarf. She made eye contact with Draco for a fraction of a second then looked down. From what he could see, Draco thought that her skin looked rosier than usual. Her lips were pressed together as if she was trying to hide a smile.

Draco held the door open for her and they strolled down the garden bath and apparated to the Ministry. The entrance hall was quiet, most people had retreated to their respective offices by this time of day. Hermione and Draco caught a lift to themselves and made it to Hermione's office in no time. As soon as he opened the door, he had bad feeling. His hair on the back of his neck stood up. The room looked ruffled. They had not left the room like this yesterday. He put an arm up for Hermione to stop. She peeked into her office from behind him. Draco moved into the office, wand ready. He circled the room twice while Hermione waited in the door, she didn't see what all of the fuss was about.

Then Draco noticed that Hermione's desk chair had something on it. Draco didn't dare pick it up, but he moved closer to it. It was addressed to Minister Granger in a clean font. Draco levitated the box and using his wand opened it. Draco let out an involuntary gasp and Hermione rushed to the desk o to get a better look. It was a human finger. Hermione let out a shriek. Draco examined the finger, he was no healer, but this finger had been severed recently. The blood had not quite congealed. Draco looked at the box again. There was a piece of parchment inside the box too. Draco, still not touching the parchment, unfolded it with magic and began to read.

Dear Minister Granger,

I hope you liked my little gift. It was not very easy to capture your friend, but in the end, I still managed. I am surprised at him, he refused to give up any information about you even after I cut off his finger. Perhaps I'll have better luck with someone else. Keep your friends close.

Sincerely,

P.S. Your friend is alive, check the courtrooms.

There was no signature. Draco flew into action. He rapped Hermione hard on the head and cast a disillusionment charm so well she appeared to have vanished. Draco shut all of the blinds and commanded that Hermione grip his shoulder. Luckily, the Auror office was only one floor down.

"Malfoy what's wrong?" Whispered a terrified Hermione.

"Stay quiet," Draco ordered.

She didn't say anything, but he could feel her shaking. After what felt like an eternity, they made it into the Auror department. He burst in and saw that Potter's office door was closed. He hoped that Potter was in there. They were seriously compromised if Harry was missing. He knocked twice and Potter answered the door, looking annoyed.

Draco burst in followed by an invisible Hermione.

"Malfoy what do you think you're doing? Where's Hermione?"

"We have a problem," Draco said. He gestured to the air next to him, "Hermione is here. Someone sent her a finger and a cryptic note. He handed Harry the note and he paled.

"Ron," was all he said as he bolted from the door. Hermione looked around Harry's office. They faintly heard Harry yell, "We're on lockdown! Dean and Shamus with me!" To the aurors in their cubicles. They heard their voices of the Aurors grow louder then fade away as they went off to patrol the different floor. The door shut automatically and the room was put into a greenish hue that barely gave off any light.

The cool voice of the ministry rang out throughout the building. "The ministry of magic has gone into lockdown. Please remain calm and keep your wands at the ready." It repeated itself several times and then it was quiet. Hermione looked around Harry's room and noticed that Ginny was sitting in front of Harry's desk.

"Ginny!" Hermione whispered loudly and stood up to hug her. Ginny had tears in her eyes. "What's wrong Ginny?"

"Ron didn't show up for tea this morning. I was going to tell him about the pregnancy but he never showed up. Harry always said to come to the office if I thought something wasn't right… and I just had a feeling," She started to cry harder. Hermione went over to comfort her. Ginny clung to her and cried.

Hermione's heart sank. So, it was Ron's finger in the box. She should have known. She prayed that he was going to be alright. Draco sat on the floor in the corner of Potter's office listening to the two girls cry. He hated to see Hermione so sad. Eventually, the girls stopped crying. It appeared that Ginny had fallen asleep on Hermione's shoulder. Over two hours had passed in Potter's office before he returned. Moments before, the lights turned back to their normal soft yellow glow and the witch with the cool voice said, "Lockdown removed, kindly be aware of any suspicious activity and report directly to the Auror department. Thank you."

Harry walked to his desk chair and sat down, "Ron is fine, obviously shaken, but fine. They recovered his finger and were able to put it back on. He's at St. Mungo's resting,"

Ginny and Hermione burst into fresh tears all over again. Draco stood up and walked over to the desk where the letter was unfolded.

"Did Weasley say anything about what happened?"

"He was unconscious until we got to St. Mungos. He said he couldn't remember anything and he is undergoing a memory treatment to see if it might come back."

"Gin, Herm, he is going to be fine, you don't have to worry," Harry said in his best soothing tone. He reached across the desk and gave each of their hands a squeeze. Hermione stopped crying first. She kissed Ginny's cheek and stood up.

"I must get back to work," Hermione said.

"Hermione, you're not staying here. You have to go home right now. We're not taking any chances." Potter said to her matter of fact. Hermione opened her mouth to argue but Harry cut her off, "Hermione, we almost lost our best friend. We now know that you are his next target and we have to act accordingly. You are going straight home and you will stay there until the threat is taken care of!"

Hermione blinked back her tears and walked to the door. Draco looked at Harry, gave him a look of disapproval and walked out the door after Hermione.

Out in the corridor, Hermione asked if they could at least collect some things from her office. Draco nodded his head yes. He wanted to examine the room one more time. The hallways were buzzing with voices. Clearly, the news about Ron has spread. They hushed when Hermione walked past them. Draco glowered at all of them.

Hermione dumped all of her books and the entire contents of her desk into her beaded bag without grace. Draco paced the room looking around wildly. He no longer felt threatened, but still felt uneasy. The sooner they got home the better.

"We should leave through the mirror, Minister," Draco said. He wanted to remind her that she was indeed the minister of magic and needed to remember she wasn't just Hermione.

"Fine," Her brow was furrowed.

She stood straight, glanced around the office and sighed. She didn't know the next time she would see her office. She approached the mirror on the drink cabinet and motioned for Draco to come over. She grabbed his hand, which was warm and soft.

"We have to enter holding hands or it won't take you through," Hermione said quietly. Draco nodded. Hermione shifted a vase that was partially blocking the mirror and pressed her finger to the mirror. After a moment it looked as if Hermione was running her hand under a current of water and it was engulfing them quickly. Draco closed his eyes as he went through the mirror and once he felt the water sensation pass over his entire body he opened them. They were standing in a rectangular room with mirror walls all around them. There were benches and a desk and even a bed. He finally understood what Hermione meant about the room being distorted. The ceiling was taller on one side than the other and the floor was slanted.

"Are you ready to apparate?" Hermione questioned.

"Yes," Draco turned all of his focus to apparating them right in front of the Fidalius charm's protection. He spun on the spot, Hermione in tow, and successfully landed right in front of the front gate. He ushered Hermione in and followed right after her.

A/N: Hi all! I hope that you guys liked this chapter. I would love it if more of you reviewed and thank you to the kind souls who have reviewed. So far most of my reviews have been guest reviews. Remember to log into your accounts so I can respond to you and say thank you! If you haven't created an account yet, you totally should and its super easy to set up. You can follow stories and authors and review, review, review! Thanks, B


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to it.

Hermione did not know what to do with herself. She had arrived back home much earlier than she had anticipated with nothing to do but wait. She desperately wanted to visit Ron, but Malfoy had already shot that down. She felt so terrible that he had risked his life just for her. She also grateful that he was alive. Malfoy sat on the couch, watching her pace until he couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up and retreated to his room. Hermione was making him terribly anxious. He plopped down on his bed but tried to take a nap, but Granger was still making a freighting amount of noise. He scooted off of the bed and walked to his bookshelf.

He could hear Hermione making an absolute ruckus downstairs. He sincerely hoped that she wasn't trashing the living room. There were loud thumps and shuffling going on below him. Draco had picked up a wizarding adventure that he had read as a young adult. He was looking for some easy, mindless reading to take his mind off of the racket that Hermione was making downstairs. Eventually, an enormously loud crash sent Draco sprinting down the stairs.

There was stuff everywhere: a collection of spell books, a mountain of clothes, a basket full of empty potion flasks, an erect tent, quills and parchment, old furniture, empty wine bottles, an extensive healer's kit, a heap of muggle and wizarding money, two cauldrons, and dishes including an old antique cup which Hermione was holding. She was in the middle of it all, sobbing.

Draco's jaw was hanging on the floor. He had never seen so much stuff in his life, with the exception of the room of hidden things. Draco recovered himself quickly and slowly approached Hermione after maneuvering around all of her things.

"Hermione," Draco breathed. He didn't say anything else. She didn't respond, but she continued to sob even harder. Draco decided against his better judgment and reached out to touch her shoulder. Hermione continued to cry but started to take big gasps of air to replace her relentless tears.

Hermione gasped, "Did you know that I bewitched my parents to believe that I didn't exist when Voldemort rose to power? I sent them to Australia so they would be safe." She took in several sharp breaths. "When I went to remove the curse from them, I explained everything to them and they were extremely upset. I knew they would be mad, but I did it anyway to protect them and they are so mad at me to this day that they don't even write me back when I write letters to them," Hermione practically hiccupped.

"I write to them all the time, but I've come to learn that they won't reply. I haven't told them I am the Minister of Magic. I always used to spend the holidays with Ron and Harry and it made them sad. They told me that I had picked magic over them. In a way, it was true, I always picked to stay with Ron and Harry because relevant things were happening in our world. I think it displeased them and they eventually gave up hope. I never told them much about Lord Voldemort in fear that they would keep me from going back to Hogwarts." Draco shuddered at the name but continued to listen intently, his hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"And while I was dealing with that, Ron asked me to marry him." Hermione's shoulders shook violently while a fresh wave of tears struck her, "We'd been dating since right after the war and there was a lot of public pressure to get married to Ron. I couldn't do it. I wanted my own career. I didn't want to be known only as the wife of an Auror. I was only 19 and I wasn't ready. I told Ron no and he has resented me for it ever since, even though we are still friends. I owe him my life now and I had the audacity to tell him no. He didn't want kids and that was a deal breaker for me otherwise I might have done it. I desperately want to have a family someday. I'm so sorry that I am telling you all of this," Hermione choked. Draco stayed silent and lightly rubbed her on the shoulder.

"I decided to clean out my bag for the first time ever just to make an inventory of what supplies I have if I need to make a quick getaway. I didn't realize I had been carrying around that blasted cup." Tears continued to fall down her rosy cheeks.

Draco scooted closer to her and tentatively wrapped his arm around her. To his surprise, Hermione leaned into him. She was holding a small cup with two handles with intricate engravings in it. He took his other hand and awkwardly reached around her body to meet his other hand and weaved his hands together to hold her. Her knees were tucked up to her chest.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione," was all Draco managed to say. She didn't mind. Hermione leaned her head on Draco's shoulder and Draco leaned his head on her head. They stayed like that a long time. Eventually, Hermione grew stiff and had to move. She turned her head toward Draco and Draco turned his head to look at her. Their noses were practically touching and before either of them knew what they were doing, they embraced in a passionate kiss. Draco's blood started to boil; in a good way. He was kissing Hermione and Hermione was kissing him back. Draco pulled away from the kiss with wide eyes. He could taste the salt from Hermione's tears. Hermione's eyes fluttered open slowly. Draco's lips were so soft and gentle. Hermione wished that he hadn't broken the kiss apart. She wanted to kiss him again. Draco wished that he hadn't broken the kiss.

Hermione gave him a sad smile. The silence grew awkward and Draco felt obligated to say something, "Hermione, I'm sorry I kissed you. I should know better. I can't imagine how vulnerable you must feel right now and I took advantage of that. I won't let it happen again." It pained him to say the words.

Hermione looked sadder than ever and she whispered, "I want you to kiss me, Draco," and she looked up at him but he was much closer than he had been before and before she could react, he was kissing her again. This kissing was more exciting and passionate and Draco clung to her like she was his lifeline. She gripped the contours of his back and together they rolled so Hermione was on her back. Draco pulled away slightly to look at her. Her eyes were closed and her lashes held a single remaining teardrop. He brushed it away and swooped down to kiss her again. Hermione's hands moved around freely feeling his toned chest and arms. She stopped just before she got to his beltline. Draco got the hint, she only wanted to kiss. He would take what he could get and not force himself on her even though he wanted to rip off her clothes and screw her right in the middle of all the junk. Draco picked up her slight frame and moved her to the couch. He set her down as gently as he could and kissed her lips. He sat down on the couch next to her and said, "Thank you."

She beamed, all traces of the tear tracks were gone and she answered, "You're welcome," Draco smiled and blushed.

"Hermione," Draco said, butterflies flapping madly in his stomach, "I have liked you for some time now…"

but his words had been drowned out by three knocks on the door. Hermione looked disappointed that Draco had been cut off and looked irritable when she went to answer the door. Harry stood there looking dead on his feet as he entered the house.

"There was no trace of the perpetrator in the ministry. They could have easily apparated in with the morning traffic. We're working on a solution to make security tighter."

"Good," Hermione said curly, "Then I'll be able to return to work,'

"No," growled Harry and Draco together. Harry looked at Draco with his eyebrows raised. Harry said, "The threat needs to be neutralized before you can return Hermione. It was a close call today. Whoever it was in your office. What if you had been there?" Harry asked fiercely.

Hermione began to protest, "I need to be there for my people! I will not be a coward!"

"No one will think you are a coward! They want you to be safe! You can accomplish just as much here and we'll allow you to make occasional public appearances so you don't end up cooped up." Harry reasoned.

"What about my duties for the Wizengamont? What about all of the daily appointments I need to have?" Hermione questioned frantically.

"Those rolls will be filled by Kingsly Shacklebolt for the time being. I've already talked about it with him," Harry concluded.

Hermione was bright red. She would not tolerate this, "I am the Minister of Magic and you cannot keep me from doing my job! I have so many responsibilities that cannot be left unfinished! You cannot keep me here!" Hermione actually made for the door.

Harry pleaded, "Minister do this for your people. We are all worried sick. Kingsly will make sure that everything gets done. Please just stay safe." He sounded so tired.

Hermione looked at Draco as if he could do something to stop Harry. He gave her an apologetic look. There was nothing that he could do and he knew that Harry was right. Hermione was in grave danger.

Tears started to spill down Hermione's cheeks again. Feeling defeated Hermione shot them both a dirty look and walked swiftly up the stairs and slammed her bedroom door with the loudest crash she could muster. Draco glared at Harry muttered 'goodnight Potter' and walked up the stairs hoping to reason with Hermione. He knocked on her door and after she didn't reply he said, "Hermione, it'll be okay. I'm sorry I can't be more of a help," He could just make out her sniffling on the other side of the door.

Draco walked to his room defeated. Hermione and Draco had just shared a beautiful moment together and it had been ruined by Harry. _Harry Potter ruins everything_ , Draco thought angrily. Poor Hermione was in tears and Draco had lost his opportunity to seal the deal with Hermione. He shut his door, collapsed on his bed, and fell asleep quickly.

Draco and Hermione shared a quiet weekend together. Draco, for the most part, did not see Hermione. She stayed in her room most of the weekend. Whenever he would pass her door he could hear her quill scratching on parchment. He wondered if she was working on her account of the war or some new legislation. He figured it was best to give her some space. On Sunday night, Draco decided to make a stew. He hoped that the savory smell would coax Hermione out of her room. She had to be starving by now. He didn't really want to talk about their kiss, but he figured she would want to talk about it. Hermione liked to take things head on. Draco only wanted to talk about their house arrest situation. This weekend had been terribly boring. He needed new books or a muggle television to keep him going.

When Draco was living alone and free to do what he wanted; he would sit and read at coffee shops or people watch in Diagon Ally or go visit his mother or remaining friends. He would flirt with waitresses, go to spas, and go to concerts. He knew he would go crazy if he couldn't get out of the house sooner or later. He knew Hermione would lose her mind too.

Like a charm, Hermione came down the stairs and inhaled the delicious smell. She looked shyly at Draco and looked away, "That smells really good," and she gave a small smile.

Draco smiled at her and said, "I bet you're hungry," and she nodded. She took the steaming bowl Draco handed to her. Draco informed her, "Harry sent me an owl today. We're still going to go the open house for the orphanage. There will be plenty of security so they are permitting you to go."

Her brows pulled together, "Shoot, I haven't written my speech yet," and she transfigured her spoon into a piece of parchment and picked up a nearby quill and traced the feather on her lips. Draco pulled out his wand and turned the parchment back into a spoon. "Really, Hermione, you should eat something. It'll help fuel that brain of yours," She grudgingly pulled her bowl closer to her. Draco sat down on the bar stool next to her but had purposely drug the chair a little way away to give her some space. He stared straight ahead as he ate. Hermione looked down at her bowl.

"You know," she said as she pushed around a potato chunk, "we never did discuss Friday night," and she gave a fleeting glance to Draco who was purposely chewing as slow as possible.

When he finally swallowed and cleared his throat he answered, "What is there to discuss?"

Hermione looked a little annoyed, "Um, we kissed," she prompted.

"I know," said Draco. He wanted to say more but it got stuck in his throat. He conjured a glass of water to buy himself time. He sipped it. Draco did not want to screw this up. Honesty is the best policy.

"Here's the truth, Hermione," and he paused, "I like you. I like you a lot and I liked kissing you too. I'd kiss you again if you let me." He smiled a bit but refused to meet Hermione's astonished eyes. "The problem is, I am supposed to be guarding you with my life and I can't be doing my job correctly if I'm distracted by you," He said this all in a rush. He looked up at her, cringing just a little because he knew the words might sting.

Hermione's eyes were wide. She had not expected Draco to feel this way. His reputation in school had always made him seem like some sort of witchenizer and she had assumed that he was just kissing her to kiss her. Draco was making it seem like he really did care about her. She wanted to reach over and touch his face. He looked nervous and she wanted to make his face smooth again.

"I like you too, Draco. I don't see why this can't work," She said quietly, continuing to push around her stew.

Even though he desperately wanted this to work out, Draco just wanted her to understand that it wasn't safe for him to be distracted by her. "Hermione, whether it is convenient to you or not, your life is in danger and you need to accept this. My job is to protect you and I won't have a clear head if we're intimate. Trust me, I want to be, but it puts you at risk. Please understand this," Draco said sternly. He hated to be rude to her, but the words were necessary.

"I understand," Hermione said quietly. She was holding back tears. How had life become so complicated? They sat in silence for the rest of the meal and as if on cue, Draco took Hermione's dish and washed the dishes in the sink. Draco heard Hermione's chair scoot out and her door click shut. He probably could have handled the situation better. Maybe he should have lied and told her that he didn't like her. Draco figured now that it would be better to tell he didn't like her and get her hopes down rather than let her know that he did like her, but it wasn't going to change anything. He felt foolish as he climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep and dreamed of Hermione.

In the morning, Draco came down to a disgruntled Hermione sitting at the bar. She had a piece of parchment in front of her that was nearly black with all of the scribbles and crossing outs on the page.

"Is that your speech," Draco asked her as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He poured a little coffee into another cup for Hermione and added a bunch of cream.

"Yes and it just isn't flowing," Hermione sighed.

"What are you writing the speech about?"

"The importance of being loved and cared for," and she sighed again.

Draco frowned, "That's a tough topic to talk about. I wish I knew how to help,"

She dipped her head down to her paper and wrote a few sentences. She picked up the parchment and read her handiwork.

"I think I've got it," she said and she continued to write fast on the parchment. Draco was about to make himself an egg when an owl started to tap on the window of the living room. Draco opened the window and allowed the owl entrance. It stuck out its leg for Draco and he untied its letter. It was from his mother.

Dear Draco,

I would love to come to the orphanage grand opening but I fear that I have a terrible cold that has not improved with pepper-up potion. I am so sorry that I am missing the opportunity to see my handsome son. I hope that you are well,

Your mother

Draco felt a twinge of disappointment that he would not be able to see his mother tonight. He missed her terribly and he knew that she must be lonely in that big manor all by herself. He knew that he would be. He would have to talk to Potter about getting a few hours off to go visit his mother.

While Draco was still at the open window another owl dropped onto the window sill. He took one look at and knew that it was Harry's owl. The owl was a beautiful ebony color and had deep golden eyes. Potter had always had beautiful owls. There was a tiny strip of parchment wound in a tight roll on the owl's leg.

It was sealed with wax. Draco slit the seal with his wand and smoothed out the parchment.

 _Malfoy,_

 _Please escort the minister to the orphanage anytime this afternoon. Ginny would really appreciate Hermione's company. Hermione knows how to get there._

 _Constant vigilance,_

 _H.P._

Draco reduced the note to ashes with his wand. Hermione was still scribbling away on her blackened piece of parchment. Draco looked at his wristwatch, it was almost ten in the morning. Draco went back to the kitchen, prepared his eggs and scarfed them down. Another owl carrying a package flew in through the open window. Now that they were staying at home more, owls had been whizzing in and out for Hermione and Draco. This one dropped the package at Draco's feet, did a loop in mid-air and exited out of the window in a flash. He knelt down and picked up the package.

Draco carefully unwrapped the brown paper and sighed in relief. He held a thick stack of profiles of visitors that had entered the ministry within the last week. He thumbed through them and realized he had a lot of work to do. There were well over two hundred visitors that had entered the ministry within the last week. He collapsed onto the sofa and pulled the coffee table closer to him.

It would take days to go through the names without sorting them first. Draco figured that the best way to sort through these names would be to divide them into two groups: male and female. From there he sorted the piles into two more groups: people he knew and people he didn't know. He conjured four bulletin boards on wheels like they had in the office and started to categorize all of the names.

Several names caught Draco's interest: Romilda Vane from Vane Cosmetics made an appearance on the day of the attack and had an appointment with a representative from experimental charms. It was reported that she entered the ministry at 7:55 in the morning and left around 9:00 after meeting with Simon Herberry. Draco would have to check in and make sure that she had stayed for the entire time.

Next on his list was Marcus Flint, his former Quidditch captain. Flint had been a nuisance during the war and mostly took to stealing from witches and wizard's homes once they went into hiding. Flint was in the ministry that day to check in with his parole wizard. Flint checked into the ministry at 8:30 and left at 1:00 after waiting for the lockdown to be lifted. He was in the parole wizard's office the entire time.

Graham Montague was next on Draco's list. He was another petty criminal who was scheduled to go to a hearing at 11:00 in front of the wizengamont for selling blistering broomsticks to customers without their knowledge. Hermione was supposed to oversee his hearing, but it was rescheduled due to the lockdown.

Millicent Bulstrode was also in the ministry on the day that Ron was attacked. Millicent was an ugly but sweet girl that Draco had attended Hogwarts with. He had not thought or seen her since his sixth year of school. She had an appointment with Billius Bode, an employee from the Misuse of Potion office, because of a malfunctioning Tibetan cauldron. She was with her cousin Filamie Bulstrode. The pair arrived at 9:00 and left at 1:00 after the lockdown procedures were completed.

It looked like all of the suspicious people had alibis within the ministry. Draco was sure that there was a chance that one of them could have slipped away at any point, but he thought it was unlikely. Draco had been walking around and hanging up profiles on his bulletin boards and the walls for a good two hours. Hermione had been quiet through the whole ordeal and it looked like she hadn't even looked up from her parchment in quite some time. Draco walked over to her.

"Hermione," he said softly to avoid startling her, "We have to leave for the Children's House soon," Draco wanted to stroke her sleek brown hair. Her head snapped up and she looked around wildly. She noticed the elaborate boards with faces all over them in the living room and narrowed her eyes.

"What are those?"

"Those people were visitors on the day Weasley was attacked. I've been categorizing and studying them,"

"Any leads?"

Draco frowned, "Not yet, but I do have some people I want to check up on,"

"I think I will take a shower and change my outfit and then we can leave," Hermione sighed. She trudged up the stairs and started a shower. She left her speech on the countertop and Draco hesitated before he walked over to it. For the most part, he could hardly read what was on the page. How was Hermione supposed to read from this during her speech? He did not have enough patience to decode the scribble. He set down the parchment and walked up the stairs to change into a suit.

Twenty minutes later, Hermione came down the stairs in a stunning red dress that nearly unraveled Draco. Her lips were a beautiful red shaded that Draco loved.

"You look very beautiful, Hermione," Draco said. She blushed.

"You look quite dashing yourself," and she blushed again.

"Are you ready?" Draco asked and he held out his arm. She wrapped her delicate hand around Draco's bicep and they walked out into their bubble oasis.

"You'll need to guide the way," Draco added as they crossed the garden gate. Hermione closed her eyes and turned on the spot and with a crack, they left for Grimmauld Place.

The house was not nearly as dreary as Hermione had expected. The brick was a warm red and the windows had been replaced and cleaned making the exterior look clean and well kept. There were chrysanthemums in beautiful pots lining the stairs up to the front door, which had been painted a navy-blue door with a gold lion knocker. Draco ushered Hermione forward and knocked on the door three times and waited. Ginny Potter opened the door after a few moments.

Her eyes widened at the sight of Hermione and Ginny half hugged, half dragged Hermione into the hallway. Draco noted that Ginny looked a great deal better than she had in Harry's office.

"Oh you look so beautiful," Ginny gushed. She released Hermione and looked down. "I'm still in my day clothes but I'm almost done with the finishing touches and you can help me get ready." Both girls smiled.

Draco was taking in the beauty of the house. He had only set foot inside the house once with his mother when he was very young. It was a terrifying memory for Draco. Back then, the house had been dreadful and the only color present was black. Now the house looked quite cheerful. The paneling had been painted bright colors and the old wallpaper had been updated to bright prints. The hardwood floors had been lightened to a honey color and the light fixtures had been updated and were emitting a cheery golden glow of light. Draco let out a low whistle.

"This place looks amazing," Draco complimented.

Ginny gave him a warm smile, "Thank you, it was quite an investment, but it was necessary."

"Hermione, why don't you give Draco a tour while I finish up?"

Hermione looked into Draco's eyes. Was that a glint of mischievousness Draco saw in Hermione's eyes? He looked away quickly and gestured for her to lead the way. He tried to keep his expression stony. On the inside, he was ready to plant his lips on Hermione's and never let go. He longed for those red lips.

Hermione led Draco down the colorful hallway that leads to kitchen and dining room. There was a large table already laden with a multitude of dishes piled high with food. There was an old house-elf bustling around the kitchen and stirring pots and stoking the fire underneath the stove with a stick.

"Good afternoon, Kreature," Hermine said in a cheerful voice.

The elf stopped what he was doing and turned to look wide-eyed at Hermione.

"Minister Granger, what a lovely surprise," the elf said with a smile on his face. "Could I perhaps make you a cup of tea or a snack?"

"No thank you, Kreature, but perhaps later," Hermione said. The elf looked disappointed.

"Draco, this is the dining and kitchen area. This is the same table that the Order of the Phoenix used to have their meetings at." Hermione ran her hand down the length of the table. Draco wished Hermione was running her hand down the length of his leg instead. Draco could feel himself starting to get excited. _Get a grip on yourself this instant_ Draco thought. Draco looked at anything but her. Was she trying to seduce him?

"Would you like to go see the rest of the house?" Hermione said in a silky voice.

Draco was thinking _no, no, no,_ but his lips betrayed him, "Yes," he said in an audible whisper. She arched an eyebrow at him.

"This way," she said in her usual bossy tone. Draco followed her as if he had been imperioused. She exited the kitchen and took a right to go up the stairs. Her long legs and amazing butt were at his eye level as she ascended the stairs. Draco was painfully hard and he used the opportunity to adjust the visible bulge in his pants. She was going rather slow up the stairs and Draco wondered again if she was trying to seduce him. If she was, it was working. They approached the first landing and she led him into a large drawing room. The room was cheerful again, aside from the ancient tapestry that hung on the far side of the room.

"This is the drawing room," Hermione sounding a little bored. She was swinging her dress back and forth and looking at her nails. Draco knew that she was playing with him now, this was not typical Hermione Granger behavior. He watched her for a moment, imagining the things he wished he could do to her body and then he noticed his own name on the tapestry behind him. Temporarily distracted, he walked around her and walked to where his family's names were woven into the fabric. He lightly touched his mother's name with his fingertips. He could hear Hermione's footsteps approaching and he spun around to meet her. She still had that mischievous glint in her eye.

"Do you want to see the future library?"

Draco said, "Do I?"

Hermione gave a smile worthy of a true politician and nodded. She looked so undeniable. She walked out of the drawing room and up one more flight of stairs, she walked up them more quickly this time. Draco was nearly running to keep up. He wanted to close the distance between himself and her delectable body. She abruptly stopped and turned to face Draco. He nearly ran into her.

"Shhh," she said. She grabbed his hand and led him into a dark and old library. It did not match the rest of the house, but it was still clean and ceiling-high shelves lined the room.

Draco's blood was pulsing through every inch of him. Draco held his breath. Hermione was extremely close. She smiled at him devilishly.

"Hermione," Draco said, trying to discourage her. "We shouldn—" but she had already grabbed at his suit and pulled him into a crushing embrace. Hermione let out a soft moan and Draco echoed her. He wished he had never promised her that he wouldn't kiss her anymore. He was never going to stop kissing her. She apparently didn't want to stop either. Her hands were tracing all of the contours of his abs and she even pulled at his shirt and untucked it. Draco gripped her tighter and pressed his body to hers. He walked her toward a bookshelf and began feeling her slender figure through her dress. He wanted to rip that pretty red dress right off of her. Their lips had still not broken.

"Hermione," breathed Draco. "Can I?" he said as he toyed with the bottom of her dress, brushing her thigh.

"Yes," she breathed. She would let Draco do whatever he wanted to her. She had waited so long to be touched like this. Draco slowly moved his hands under Hermione's dress and they could already feel the warmth coming from her core. He slid his hands up to her hips and he could feel the lace panties she was wearing. He started kissing her neck as he tried to think clearly and keep himself from coming in his pants. He started to slide her panties off and her breath hitched.

"Is this okay?" Draco said, not wanting to push her too far.

"Yes," she breathed, "keep going," but another voice answered, "No," and both Hermione and Draco's heads snapped up, hearts racing. Ginny was standing in the open doorway, arms crossed, looking a lot like Mrs. Weasley. They were so caught up they forgot to even close the door.

"Oh!" Hermione said and tried to flatten her dress. Draco pulled out from underneath her dress as if he had been burned by a hot stove.

"Oh!" Ginny mimicked and she smiled, "Girl, you better spill," and she reached forward and dragged Hermione out of the room.

Draco's heart had never pulsed this hard in his life. _What have I done?_ He thought, _I was just caught red handed with my hands up the Minister of Magic's skirt, I'm going to be burned at the stake._ Draco gulped and collapsed into an antique armchair.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A/N: Hi all! There is a lemon in this chapter. I hope you enjoy.

Ginny ushered Hermione into Harry and Ginny's beautiful master bathroom that was attached to their bedroom. Ginny sat down at her dressing table and started to apply foundation.

"Hermione, were you ever going to tell me that you've been hooking up with Draco Malfoy?"

"Well, I would have, but we haven't actually made it that far," Hermione said glumly, "You sort of interrupted that,"

Ginny looked incredulous at her, "That was the first time in the library? No wonder it looked so passionate,"

"We kissed for the first time yesterday but it hardly counts because I was balling my eyes out. And this morning he told me that he didn't want to get intimate with me because he thought it would affect his ability to protect me."

Ginny paused applying her makeup with half of her face covered in foundation, "Aww, he must really like you. I'm sorry that I interrupted you, but it was probably for the best. You don't want to say that your first time with Draco was in a morbid library,"

"So you aren't mad that I just tried to seduce and bang Draco in the library?" She looked nervously at the redhead who had gone back to applying her makeup.

Ginny shrugged, "Not at all, actually I'm really happy for you! Draco is a hot piece of meat and I hope you ravish him," Ginny let out a little giggle. "We'll have to get together and discuss it once it happens. I think you already know this, but it'll be best not to tell Harry and Ron. Malfoy protecting you is one thing, but Malfoy fucking you is an entirely different thing." Hermione let out a girlish giggle.

Hermione laughed, "I don't know what's gotten into me. I never thought that I would be attracted to Draco, we haven't even been together for that long, but I am entirely smitten with him. He cooks my meals and he always has something smart to say back to me whenever I talk to him and although it hasn't happened yet, I am going to bet a million galleons that he is a god in bed,"

"It sounds like to me that you have a big fat crush on Draco Malfoy," and Ginny made a bunch of pink bubbles shaped in hearts spill out of her wand. "It suits you, Hermione. I bet that he is the one," and she popped a stray bubble with her finger. "Help me get into this dress, will you? I bought it before I knew about the pregnancy."

With a little bit of tugging and groaning, Hermione managed to get the tight dress on Ginny. Hermione remembered that she was supposed to ask if they could use her pregnancy as a public distraction. "Um, Ginny," Hermione asked tentatively, "When are you planning to reveal your pregnancy to the public?" Hermione bit her lip.

"We really haven't thought about it. I don't even think that it has crossed my mind that we need to notify the press. Why, is something wrong?"

"No, there is nothing wrong, but I do have a favor to ask of you," Hermione cleared her throat, "This might be entirely rude and selfish of me, and I hope that you can forgive me, but, I would really like it if you made an announcement. I'm having troubles keeping the press under wraps with this whole minister killer thing and I am trying to distract them with something good and beautiful and I kind of think that you are perfect for it,"

To Hermione's relief, Ginny broke out into a smile and laughed, "I think we can do that for you! Who knows maybe we can even do it tonight! I'll ask Harry,"

"Thank you so much, Ginny, it means the world to me," Hermione gushed. The two girls exited the room arm in arm and descended the stairs. "Um, I better go find Draco. He's probably freaking out," Ginny just nodded and winked. The doorbell had just chimed and Ginny dashed down the stairs to answer it. It was five o'clock and guests were already starting to arrive. Hermione made her way back to the library and found Draco staring wide-eyed at her from an armchair.

"Draco, I'm sorry," Hermione said and she walked over to him. "Ginny isn't mad or anything and she isn't going to tell Harry either," and she watched as he melted in front of her and relaxed. Hermione sank onto his lap and kissed him. Draco used his wand to swish the door shut and he locked it for good measure. He gently used his hands to pull Hermione closer so he could kiss her. The kiss was slower this time, more controlled and Draco felt his pants grow tighter yet again. They could hear the doorbell ring again.

Draco broke their kiss apart, "Ah, Hermione, there's going to be a lot of people here, can we wait until we are alone? The two of us together, at this point, would cause the world to crack in two," Hermione smiled and nodded. Draco allowed her to slide off his lap and he stood and tucked in his shirt and willed his penis to relax in his pants. He gently reached for her hand and kissed it. She blushed and curtsied.

Draco flicked open the door with his wand and escorted her down the stairs. The main level was already full of people. Draco was immediately on red alert. He recognized almost everyone in the room and that was a relief to him. Many people walked up to Hermione and greeted her and shook her hand enthusiastically. Draco stood just behind her and looked around at everyone, profiling and watching the crowd. After nearly an hour of this Harry approached Hermione and told her it was time for her speech. Hermione took a deep breath and walked toward a podium that had been set up for her speech. Harry walked up to the podium, said sonorous and announced, "Welcome to the Children's House dedicated to orphaned children. We are so grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful people that support our effort. I have the great pleasure of introducing our guest speaker tonight. Please welcome Minister Hermione Granger to the podium." The crowd that had assembled in the drawing room clapped enthusiastically as Hermione stepped up to the podium. Malfoy trailed behind her and found himself a great spot against the wall where he could see the entire crowd. It was incredible how nervous and stressed Hermione had been while she had been writing her speech and now, after the fact, she exuded confidence and calm.

The crowd grew increasingly quiet as Hermione cleared her throat and straightened the paper in front of her. It was the same blackened paper that Hermione had been writing on at the kitchen table.

Hermione began to speak, "There once was a poor witch who was with child and was close to giving birth. Her abusive father and brother were jailed in Azkaban and she had no one to ask for help. She sold a precious family heirloom worth millions of galleons for ten. The desperate witch ran across a muggle orphanage where she gave birth and died. Her only request was to name her son Tom Riddle after his father. Tom Riddle was born into this world without knowing or understanding the concept of love. It was not until this child turned 11 that he learned that he was a wizard and this is a tragedy. Tom Riddle, though few know it, became one of the most feared wizards in our existence. Of course, I am speaking of Lord Voldemort." Naturally, several people gasped at the name. "Tom Riddle developed a group of followers at Hogwarts and eventually changed his name to Lord Voldemort. There are several factors to blame for the person Tom Riddle became. Perhaps one of the most important factors is that he had no attachments to family and what little family he did had abandoned him. The aim of the Children's House is to prevent children from having to feel alone or unloved. With the aftermath of the second wizarding war, Harry Potter took on the initiative to provide misplaced children with a home so no more children will enter this world without knowing love and kindness. Thank you for being here tonight and let us toast Mr. and Mrs. Potter for their service." Hermione raised her own glass into the air and everyone followed suit. "In a few moments, Professor Neville Longbottom will be asking for pledges to assist the Potters in their journey with our two beautiful orphans. I hope you all have a wonderful night!" And Hermione stepped off of the platform and allowed Neville to step up. Everyone applauded.

"Thank you, Minister Granger, for that touching speech," Neville cleared his throat, "Would anyone like to start us off?"

Hermione raised her hand. "I pledge to remodel the library and provide the Children's House with a large collection of books to both educate and entertain them." She beamed and everyone clapped louder. A few whistled. Ginny ran over to her and gave her a big hug.

Another witch, dressed in a glossy black gown and shawl raised her hand. Neville greeted the woman, "Hello Madam Lillian, what would you like to pledge?"

She smiled wide and said, "I pledge 50 galleons a year to fund extracurricular activities," and the crowd clapped.

This went on for a while and people slowly started to raise the bar. A shop owner from Diagon Ally had just pledged to cover all of the children's tuition and books once they reached Hogwarts. Draco knew that soon he would have to raise his hand and pledge. He had moved from his spot against the wall and went to stand behind Hermione. She sensed his presence and gave him a fleeting once-over. He wanted to kiss her lips or her exposed neck so badly, but he knew that it would have to wait.

Draco put on a brave face and raised his hand. Neville noticed right away, "Good evening, Mr. Malfoy, what would you like to pledge?" Every head in the crowded drawing-room turned to look at Draco. "Good evening, I would like to pledge 5000 galleons to assist in building upkeep and general expenses that go along with raising children such as food, clothing, and toys."

Neville tried very hard not to look shocked, but he failed. "That is very generous of you Mr. Malfoy. Thank you."

A few more people added in their donations and then it was over. Harry came to shake Draco's hand. "Thank you mate," Harry said.

"No problem, boss. I know that you'll put it to good use."

Harry and Draco looked over at Hermione who was talking animatedly to the owner of Flourish and Blotts. She was clearly excited about remodeling the library. Harry turned back to Draco, "It's probably best if you two leave soon. She's been out in the open too long,"

"Harry, Hermione is going to go crazy if she can't leave the house. We need to be able to leave occasionally. Maybe we can come over here and help Ginny or go into town to get groceries and supplies. I also need a way to communicate with people that doesn't involve using a bird. Is there any way we can connect the house to the floo network without allowing access into the house? I have some leads I want to check on,"

"I think that can be arranged. It'll be best to keep the times random, do not tell anyone where you are going or when because that can seriously compromise Hermione's security."

Draco nodded in agreement. Harry was then whisked away by Ginny to take a picture with a photographer. Draco approached Hermione, who was still talking to the bookshop owner and waited her to be finished. "It was so nice to iron out some of those details, Mr. Mauldin, and I daresay I will be in touch with you shortly," and she bade him goodnight.

"Minister," Draco said to Hermione because there were many prying eyes and ears surrounding them, "It is time to leave," and he lifted his eyebrow a fraction of an inch to let her know that he wanted her to hurry so he could kiss her again. Hermione fought back a smile. Hermione led the way out of the drawing room and down the stairs. Kreature was standing by the front door and gave Hermione her jacket. The old elf opened the door from them exit into the street. Draco took her soft hand in his left and led them with his wand out the park across the street. Once they were behind a large oak tree, Draco apparated them back to their safe haven.

Draco had not even reached the front door when Hermione pounced on him and kissed him roughly on the porch. Draco fumbled for the door handle while still managing to have a hand wrapped around Hermione's waist. Hermione broke their kiss to start a roaring fire in the fireplace. She pulled Draco by his shirt over to the couch and pushed him down onto it. Hermione sank down and straddled him, she felt so naughty, this was so unlike her, but she did it anyway. She wanted Draco and she was going to get her way. Her dress flared out at the hips and it allowed her to sit right on top of Draco's hard on. Draco could feel her warmth radiating through his trousers.

Draco threw caution to the winds. He wanted to fuck Hermione so bad. He hoped she would let him. "Should we start where we left off, my lady?"

Hermione let out a very girlish giggle and took his hands and slid them under her dress. Draco went straight for those lacy panties and felt them, imagining what they must look like. He moved his hands to her core and felt her through her panties. She had soaked through them with her wetness. Draco couldn't take it any longer. He slipped his hands under the wet fabric and gently grazed her fold. Hermione let out a moan of longing and squirmed up against Draco's hand. It was too much for him. He plunged his fingers deep into her cavern and she let out another moan, this time louder, and Draco made little thrusts with his hands and rubbed her clit at the same time. He looked up at her. Her eyes were scrunched closed and her teeth were locked together in a smile. With his other hand, he pulled her down so their lips were pressed together. He stroked her clit just right and she gasped and squirmed on him again. He was ready to take her.

"Hermione, love," Draco cooed, "Let me help you out of your dress," Hermione's eyes lit up and she pulled herself off of Draco.

"Okay," she said shyly. She had a very big smile on her face. Draco did too.

Draco stood up to meet her. She turned around for him and he kissed her neck while he unzipped her beautiful red dress. Draco sucked in a big breath as he saw Hermione's body silhouetted by the fire.

"You are so beautiful," Draco breathed. Hermione was not wearing a bra because her dress had built in padding. She turned to face him and he groaned in longing. Hermione's breasts were slowly rising and falling with each of her breaths. Draco reached out for her hands and he drew her closer. Her panties were a beautiful shade of red that matched her dress. He wanted to rip them off with his teeth.

"You are so beautiful," he said again. He wasn't sure if he would ever be able to stop.

"It's your turn Draco," and she started to unbutton Draco's collared shirt. He reached out and grasped her breasts and toyed with her nipples. They were incredibly sensitive and she giggled when he stroked them. When she got to the bottom button she moved straight to his belt and yanked it off. She could see his hard dick through his pants and she stroked it lightly. Draco bucked out a little to feel her hand on his dick again.

"Hermione, please," Draco said, begging for her to finish taking off his pants.

"Please what, Draco?" Hermione said innocently, with that same mischievous look in her eyes.

"Please let me fuck you," he begged. "I'll do anything you want," he said with his eyes closed. Hermione unzipped his pants as slowly as she could. She was enjoying Draco begging. Draco kicked off his shoes and pulled his pants off. He was wearing black briefs and it perfectly outlined his rock-hard penis. He ripped his shirt off and kissed Hermione fiercely. Hermione slid her hands into his underwear and began stroking and tugging on his dick. She ground her pussy up against Draco's and Draco pressed up against her.

"Hermione, please, please, please," Draco echoed.

Hermione answered with a big smile, "Take off my panties," she ordered and Draco ripped them off in his excitement. She giggled and tugged off his underwear. Hermione's eyes widened when she saw Draco's thick erect cock. She pushed him onto the couch like she had before only this time when she sank onto him, she led the way and engulfed him in her tight cunt. Hermione let out a hiss of ecstasy and Draco took a deep breath to keep himself from coming before the magic had even begun. He grabbed her hips and guided her while she bobbed up and down on his shaft. He reached forward and licked and bit gently on her breasts. Hermione started to pick up the tempo and Draco threw his head back on the couch and watched her as she took in his length over and over again. She looked at Draco, biting her lip seductively, and it made Draco crazy. With a burst of strength, he picked Hermione up and she willingly wrapped her legs around Draco and he ran them up the stairs and into Draco's room. He tossed her onto the bed and climbed on top of her. She squealed at the turn of events.

"You are so beautiful," he repeated and before Hermione could reply Draco lined up to her and thrust into her hard and she cried out in bliss. He took his fingers and started to rub her clit with the perfect speed and precision. Hermione was calling his name out but Draco was so lost in the moment he could barely hear her. He thrust into her over and over again and the combination sent her into an earsplitting orgasm. Her juices leaked all over Draco and Draco came inside her while her walls pulsed against his cock. Then, as they came together, a lamp to their right shattered into a thousand pieces and the light fixture from overhead grew very bright and then the bulb burnt out and cast them into darkness.

Draco was instantly on edge despite his tiredness. He pulled himself out of Hermione and said, "Who's there?" He felt so stupid. He had left his wand downstairs in his trouser pocket. Harry had specifically told him to take it everywhere with him, even when he was under the protection of the fidalius charm.

"No one is there, Draco. It was me." Hermione said in a slightly hoarse voice.

"You broke the lamp?"

"Yes, and I burnt out the bulb, it happens sometimes when I orgasm. I…I'm sorry," Hermione said quietly.

Draco made his way back to his bed and reached out for her. He found her hand and kissed it, "Hey, it's okay, there's no need to be sorry. It must have felt really good if it caused you to have an out of body orgasm." He took her face in his hands and kissed her.

"Thanks for understanding," Hermione said, snuggling close to Draco. He pulled the comforter over them and held her close. "It used to make Ron mad,"

"What a git," growled Draco. "It's a beautiful thing, Hermione. Lamps and bulbs are replaceable,"

Hermione took a sigh of relief. "Draco?" she asked.

"Mmhmm," he answered.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Hermione asked shyly.

"Yes, of course," and he kissed her hair. He would never be able to give her enough kisses. They sank onto the pillows and got comfortable. They fell asleep holding hands.

A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long for me to get this finished. I ended up breaking chapter 6 in half and wanted to finish 7 while it was still fresh. I hope it was worth the wait. Hermione and Draco are finally together! Woohoo! I would love it if you guys would review and follow the story. What do you think will happen next?

Thanks for all of the follows and reviews,

B


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Harry Potter belongs to the beautiful J.K. Rowling

I hope you guys like lemons with your breakfast!

When Hermione woke the next morning, she was alone in an unfamiliar room. It took her several moments to realize that she was in Draco's room. She stretched and groaned a little when she discovered how sore she was. Draco had really done a number on her. She wasn't surprised that Draco didn't wait for Hermione to wake up. He didn't seem like the cuddly, lovey-dovey type, but she didn't mind. She wondered if he would be mad at her. Draco had made it very clear that he did not want to pursue her romantically because he was supposed to be protecting her. Hermione wondered if she should retreat to her room and let him cool down. She stretched again and prepared herself for the short walk of shame down the hallway. Before she could crawl out of bed, the door swished open and Draco walked in carrying a large breakfast tray. Hermione smiled shyly at him.

"Good morning, Sunshine," he greeted with a smirk on his lips. Hermione blushed.

"Good morning," she said softly. Hermione sat up against Draco's headboard, making sure that her naked breasts were covered up with his silky comforter. Draco wished desperately that she would let the covers fall down.

"I made you some breakfast," Draco said and gently set the tray on Hermione's lap.

"That is so sweet of you. Thank you, Draco," Hermione said, blushing again. She felt so bashful. This man had seen _all_ of her last night and had stuck around to make her breakfast. It was true that he couldn't leave, but he could have avoided her or treated her differently. Her body felt considerably warmer and since she was feeling too shy to say anything more, she picked up her fork and began eating the delicious French toast Draco had prepared. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching her with curious eyes. She looked so timid. Draco hoped that she didn't regret going all the way with him. He wondered if she regretted having sex with him. He hoped it had been pleasant for her. He guessed that she had enjoyed herself because she had orgasmed while he ground into her. The thought made him hard and he adjusted slightly on the bed to hide his sprouting boner. He wanted to shag her again but he feared that she would want to call it off. Hermione, ironically, thought the same exact thing. She couldn't wait to have him slay her again. She had eaten her fill and set her fork down on the tray.

"Are you finished?" Draco asked politely.

"Yes, it was absolutely divine," Hermione complimented. Draco vanished the tray and the remaining food. A silence loomed over them.

Draco's heart began to thump wildly in his chest. He knew that he needed to talk to her about last night. Despite his earlier decision to keep their relationship professional, he desperately wanted to keep what they had going. The sex had been amazing. Draco had never been with a witch who orgasmed so magically that she broke furniture and lightbulbs. She was a marvel and he wanted to screw her every night of his life. Draco cleared his throat, "Erm, Hermione," he said slowly, "I want to talk to you about what happened last night,"

Hermione's eyes flashed to him and then down to her lap. She sighed, "I know you must be angry at me for making you go back on your word. I'm sorry," she said sincerely.

Draco crawled to her across the bed, worry in his eyes, "Hey… I am not angry at all. I was all too willing to go back on my word. You are the most beautiful creature in my existence and I loved what happened between us last night. I'd never change a thing,"

Hermione's eyes brightened and met Draco's stunning grey ones. Draco reached forward and took her hand. He kissed her palm sweetly. He noticed the raised scar etched into her forearm and then he brushed his lips against the words, trying to erase them. Hermione reached for his arm with her free hand turned Draco's arm so his palm was facing up. Draco shuddered as she traced the blackened skin. He thought she was brave for touching it. Draco's dark mark had lightened significantly in the years following the war, but its shadow would always remain. He almost always wore long sleeve shirts but Hermione's fire that burned continuously made it hot in the house and he was currently shirtless. Hermione moved her hand to cup Draco's cheek and she leaned forward, freeing her beautiful breasts from under the covers and kissed him. Draco sighed into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her onto his lap.

He whispered into her ear, "What do you want to do today?"

She giggled and replied, "You," and she attacked him with kisses along his neck. Draco slowly started to feel up her body. The soft curves of her waist and breasts were like a drug to Draco. He pinched her nipples lightly and she squealed and squirmed. Draco's cock was trying to burst through his pants. Hermione, who was already naked slowly and torturously slid her hands down to Draco's waistline. She ran her hand along the seam of his boxers and snapped the elastic with her finger. It drove Draco wild and he picked her up and tossed her on her back. She let out another squeal of delight. Draco stood up on the bed and towered over her. He quickly stripped his boxers and smiled down at her.

"Come here," Hermione demanded.

Draco swooped down on her. He planted a big kiss on her lips and moved onto her breasts. He sucked each one and with a popping sound made them stand rock hard. Draco's saliva on her exposed nipples made her cold and goosebumps crawled over her body. It made Draco smile in triumph. He slid his hands over her body and used them to pry apart her legs. She didn't object until Draco scooted farther down the bed and began to lower his head to her pink opening.

"Draco," Hermione said unsurely. No one had ever gone down on her. She felt nervous.

Draco lifted his head back up to look into her panicky face. He smiled at her reassuringly.

"I think you'll like this. Try to relax and if you want me to stop, I will," Draco added.

Hermione took a deep breath and let her head sink back onto the pillow. She could feel his warm breath steadily blowing on her most sensitive area. She closed her eyes. She didn't know what to expect. Draco reached up and held her hand that was laying limply by her side. Draco's tongue licked her fold and she gasped in surprise. It felt good. Draco gripped her hand harder. She tasted delicious; she was sweet and tangy and he couldn't wait for more. He dipped his tongue back into her soft flesh and felt around for her clit and pressed on it. Hermione gasped again and she let out a little moan as Draco continued to swirl around her clit with his tongue. He took his free hand and spread her lips wide and plunged his tongue into her hole. Hermione bucked up involuntarily and cried out. Draco used his fingers to push and tug on her knot while he tongue-fucked her. The sensation was so unique and she now understood what girls in her dormitory were talking about. Draco's tongue and fingers were magical and she was already close to her climax. Her whole body was tensed and she was right on the verge of coming and she didn't even notice that Draco had wildly yanked off his boxers and was lined up with her entrance.

For just a moment, Draco stopped to admire her. Her eyelids were shut tightly and she had a half smile, half grimace as she was lost in bliss. It took her a moment to realize that Draco had stopped touching her. She was so close to release, how dare he? Her eyes flashed open and Draco smiled with a mischievous expression. The second Hermione opened her eyes Draco slammed himself into Hermione's soaked folds. He hit her in exactly the right spot and she came in a matter of seconds. Draco heard a tremendous crashing sound from downstairs and knew he had succeeded. Tears of joy and surprise leaked out of her eyes and Draco finished himself after a few good pumps. His arousal and orgasm came so naturally with Hermione. Last night he fought hard to hold it back. Today was about her and he had made sure that her orgasm was his priority. There would be plenty of time for long, romantic sex later. Draco pulled himself out quickly and cleaned himself with his wand that was stashed under his pillow after retrieving it from his trousers this morning. Hermione took her own wand from the nightstand and muttered a contraceptive charm on her belly.

Hermione threw her wand on the floor and reached for Draco. He scooted closer to her and whispered in her ear, "Did you like that?"

Hermione looked meaningfully into Draco's eyes, "That was unforgettable,"

Draco smirked and answered, "Good," and he leaned to kiss her forehead. He toyed with her curls with his fingers. She took a deep breath and leaned into him. "You know," Draco said after a moment, "I was being serious when I asked you what you wanted to do today, any thoughts?"

Hermione pulled away and looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"I reasoned with Harry and he gave us permission to leave the house. I told him you'd go crazy if you couldn't get out." Draco smiled. Hermione smiled back and leaned into Draco's chest once more.

"I knew he would give in in the end. He can't really control me, though he does try to reign me in. I think I would like to go to the market and I would love to get some supplies in Diagon Ally if you are up to the task, but first, I need clean our living room," She said thoughtfully.

Draco laughed and smiled, "I will do whatever you want me to do," and he kissed her again. Hermione squirmed out of Draco's arms and scooted off the bed. She took Draco's untucked sheet and transfigured it into a neat white bathrobe.

"I'm going to take a shower, care to join?" Hermione asked batting her eyelashes.

Draco's smile faltered, "I would, but I already took one while you were sleeping," and he regretted his choice. He wasn't big on showers

"That's alright," Hermione said pleasantly and she walked purposefully out of the room. Draco sighed and pulled his hands behind his head. He pondered how things had gotten so serious in the short time that they were together. Draco knew it was safe to say that he was head over heels in love with her. He knew that this was more than an infatuation. He loved everything she did and cared so deeply for her. He thought, _maybe it's not so unreasonable to fall in love with her so quickly. She has been on my radar for years. Even in school, I was attracted to her though I couldn't even admit it to myself._

Draco heard Hermione's shower start and he dragged himself out of bed and dressed casually for now. He didn't want to clean Hermione's disaster in the living room in a suit. Draco sauntered down the steps and glanced around the trashed downstairs. His mouth dropped. Had they started to shag in _this_ mess? The only thing that was new was all of the dishes Hermione had brought to the house were smashed on the floor after falling from the shelves. The dishes must have been a victim of Hermione's orgasm. Draco smiled to himself as he repaired the cups one by one and placed them back on the shelves. Hermione came down dressed in a practical outfit and began to clean the mess she had created in the living room.

First, she carried the mountain of laundry to the small laundry room behind the kitchen and began to sort it into three different piles one for Harry, Ron, and herself. Draco stood in the doorway watching her. Hermione held up a sky-blue tee shirt with a navy collar and tossed it into the Harry pile. She commentated, "Harry wore that shirt at least three times a week growing up," She picked up a pair of jeans and sighed, "Ron always complained about these pants being too tight," and she threw the pair in the washer.

She checked all of the pants pockets before throwing the jeans into the washer. Draco was surprised at the small pile of gold that was growing from all of the pocket change. "Wow," said Hermione, "I did not realize I was carrying all of this money around, I'll have to treat myself," and she tapped the washer with her wand and it began to fill with water. Hermione left the little laundry room and began stacking the small library of books onto a nearby bookshelf. Draco started picking up potions bottles over to the sink and scorgifying them. They worked in companionable silence and in no time at all, they had the living space clean. The only thing that remained was the erect tent. Draco grew curious and moved closer to the tent. "So, this is the tent that you lived in for a year?" The tent was incredibly shabby and it made Draco pity her just a bit.

"Actually no," Hermione contradicted. "This tent belongs to Bill Weasley. Our original tent was confiscated by the snatchers. I have no idea what happened to the tent, although I wish I knew. My copy of the Beetle and the Bard was in there and it was a gift from Dumbledore. We never actually used this tent. I probably should give it back to Bill and Fleur." And she made a mental note to drop off the tent in the near future. "I think for now, I'll keep it in my bag; just in case."

Hermione repacked her beaded bag and made a list of tasks to accomplish while they were in Diagon Ally:

 _Extract money from Gringotts for book order_

 _Replenish supplies at apothecary_

 _Place order at Flourish and Blotts_

 _Buy instant darkness powder from George_

 _New tent_

 _Broomstick_

Hermione felt that a tent of her own and a broomstick were musts for her beaded bag. Since the war, Hermione had always felt the need to carry around her beaded bag just in case. Now that the threat to her life was real, she wanted to be prepared as possible. The attack on Ron had rattled her. Hermione wondered if Draco would permit a visit to St. Mungo's to check on Ron. Draco began folding up the tent and Hermione took it from him and stuffed it into her bag.

"I think I'll go change and then we can head out. Is that ok with you?" Hermione asked politely.

Draco answered, "That sounds great," and the pair ascended the stairs to change clothes. Hermione closed her door behind her and ran to her closet. She wanted to impress Draco and wear something especially nice. Draco would, no doubt, be wearing an impeccable suit. Hermione walked into the closet and felt overwhelmed. When Hermione had run for Minister, Ginny had insisted that she dress fashionably at all times. Ginny sent Hermione clothes all the time and demanded that they go shopping once a month. Hermione disliked clothes shopping at first but over time found the outings rather enjoyable. Hermione eyed an outfit she had been avoiding. Hermione felt silly, the outfit was simple but sexy. She remembered trying it on in Paris with Ginny and smiled.

 _"_ _Oooh, Hermione! That is so stunningly sexy on you! You have to get that!"_

Hermione pulled the outfit off of its hanger and unwrinkled the pieces with a gust of steam from her wand. She exited her closet and set the number on her bed. The long sleeve shirt was a crisp white and had a deep v neck. The fabric was silky and sheer. The skirt was a pencil that curved perfectly with Hermione's body and made her butt and legs look amazing. Hermione slipped on the shirt and delicately tugged the skirt into place. She tucked in the white blouse so it hung just right and slipped on pantyhose and hoped they would give her some extra warmth on this late fall day. Hermione walked to her beauty stand and applied her usual amount of makeup. Hermione did change up one and went a few shades darker with her lipstick. She smiled, the color suited her. She dug through her jewelry and found a simple gold chain necklace with three pearls on it and clasped it around her neck. She poked the matching earrings into her lobes and stood back to look in the mirror. She felt fierce and confident. She hoped Draco appreciated the effort.

When Hermione arrived back downstairs she found Draco relaxing on the couch with the newspaper floating in front of him. He flicked his wand and the page turned lazily. Hermione went to stand behind him.

"Anything interesting?" Hermione asked, hoping that Draco would turn to look at her. Draco folded up the newspaper with his wand. It flopped on the table with a soft thud.

He stood and stretched while he said, "Oh, nothing terribly interesting, the front page was about the Children's House and highlighted all of the big donations. Both of you and I were mentioned for our donations, and they threw in that we left together, but I don't think people will read into it." On the last word, Draco's eyes met Hermione's face and body and his eyes danced. He rushed around the couch to her and placed his hands on her slim waist. It seemed that he couldn't keep his hands off of her. Hermione smiled and Draco smiled in return. "You look so beautiful," and he bent down to kiss her softly on the cheek.

"Thank you," Hermione felt her cheeks heat up. Draco took a step back from her and let his hands drop to his sides.

Draco added sheepishly, "I do not know how I am going to keep my hands to myself while we're out running errands."

Hermione frowned a little, "I'm not sure today would be the best day to reveal our secret to the press, though I imagine we'll have to deal with it sometime," and she smirked.

Draco's heart leaped. Did that mean that she did want to reveal their relationship at some point? Did Hermione think that they were in a relationship? Did she want him for more than just an intimate partner? Go, he hoped so. He couldn't say that they were dating because Draco hadn't taken the poor girl out on any dates, except for the Italian restaurant, and that hadn't gone very smoothly. He hoped that he would have another opportunity to take Hermione out. He might have to get creative because they wouldn't be getting out much. Perhaps they could do something tonight

"Hello? Earth to Draco?" and she laughed to herself at her muggle reference that would go over Draco's head.

Draco snapped out of his scheming and looked at Hermione who was shrugging on a black blazer.

Draco cleared his throat and pulled his suit jacket on. "Sorry, Hermione, I was just daydreaming,"

Hermione laughed again, "Not to be rude or anything, but there are some things I just never thought I would hear out of your mouth,"

Draco laughed with her, "Me either," and he gave her a big smile. Hermione plucked her list from the table and sack full of galleons and met Draco at the front door which he had held open for her. As soon as Draco walked through the front door his mood shifted. He was suddenly very serious and careful as they passed the protection of the Fidalius charm.

Hermione gripped Draco's upper arm and Draco turned on the spot and apparated them to the Leaky Cauldron. Draco quickly scanned the nearly empty bar and was pleased to see that there was no one out of the ordinary sitting at the bar. Tom, the barman, bowed low to Hermione and gave a curt nod to Draco before Draco rushed them to the brick entrance of Diagon Ally. For a Tuesday, the streets were fairly busy and added to Draco's anxiety. Hermione reluctantly dropped her hand from Draco's arm. She wished she could hold onto Draco to provide him some peace of mind. He had a permanent frown on his face that he had adopted the minute they were out of the door. Hermione walked quickly down the cobbled street, the air was brisk and Hermione wanted to get inside Gringotts quickly. Draco trailed behind Hermione, constantly scanning the witches blustering by and the warlocks leaning on buildings reading papers and drinking coffees. Draco was fractionally relieved when they passed the two wizards with proberty probes and entered the immaculate hall. They waited in a short line for the next available goblin. Draco continued his furious scanning of all of the people and creatures in the room. He kept his distance while Hermione talked with the goblin and when Hermione moved off to the left to enter the underground Draco followed. A security wizard stepped in front of Draco and stopped Draco by putting his hand on his chest. Draco whipped his wand with great speed and snarled, "I do not want to hex you, but I will if you don't get out of my way," The security wizard raised his own wand.

The wizard stupidly stood his ground. Draco looked frantically at Hermione who had turned around when she heard Draco's hostile voice. Her eyes widened and she walked toward the three men, chin high. The goblin that was escorting her looked annoyed and started to pick his teeth, bored.

She cleared her voice and tapped the security wizard on his shoulder. He involuntarily turned to look at the witch behind him. His eyes widened to the size of saucers and he started to splutter, "Ah, Min- Min-ister Granger- what a pleasure-,"

Hermione cut him off, "Would you kindly lower your wand? That is my security detail you're holding up. I have kindly asked him to escort me to the bank."

The security wizard looked unsettled. "Minister Granger, are you quite sure that you need him to accompany you to your vault?" Then in a quieter voice, he whispered to her, "Are you under duress?"

Hermione looked taken aback, "Am I under duress? Are you joking? Have you not been reading the papers?" Hermione said and gestured to Draco. The wizard shook his head no. Hermione scoffed. "My life is in danger and I have been given extra protection."

The wizard did not move to let Draco pass. Draco grew very angry and raised his voice, "Do you know who I am?"

The wizard eyed him carefully and shook his head no. People and goblins alike looked over at the commotion. Hermione grew impatient and scanned the room looking for a bank representative. Draco shouted, "Let's put it this way, if I removed all of the gold in my vault today, it would entirely collapse Europe's wizarding economy. I practically own this bank!" Draco had still not lowered his voice. As if on cue, a frantic Fleur Weasley came rushing out of her office and dashed toward them. She had been promoted to the head banker some years back.

"Mizter Malfoy! Is zer something wrong?" Fleur scanned the situation and knew at once that her guard had stopped him.

"This _wizard_ will not let me pass to accompany Minister Granger to her vault," Draco accused. His voice had dropped back to a civil tone to Hermione and Fleur's relief.

Fleur rounded on the guard, "Zis is Mr. Malfoy and he is very important! Not only has he been chozen to protect our Minister of Magic, but also very important to this banks success! Let him pass and if I ever hear you question him again I will fire you!"

She turned to Hermione, "I am zo sorry for the hold up, my dear Hermione. My deepest apologies to you and Mr. Malfoy." She snapped at the guard and he moved aside, he was as pale as a ghost.

Draco scanned the room again and followed Hermione to the goblin who was already seated in the cart. Draco took a deep breath before stepping into the cart behind Hermione and sincerely hoped that her vault was near the surface. The cart started off slow but then the cart took a gradual swirling dive and they started to go faster. After about five minutes the goblin took hold of the break and yanked causing the cart to make a terrible screeching sound and in an instant, the cart stopped perfectly in front of a vault door. Draco smoothed his hair back and walked out of the cart. He leaned down to offer Hermione his hand and she took it, a little shakily. The goblin followed next and inserted a key into a keyhole. The vault door swung open silently and shed light on a substantial amount of gold. Draco took a quick, curious peek into the vault then turned away. Hermione scooped some galleons into her money sack and ruffled around in her bag for a moment. Draco took another curious peek. Hermione extracted the small antique cup and placed it on a lonely shelf. She let out a sigh and closed the vault door.

Draco helped her back into the cart while the goblin sealed the door. The little goblin waddled back into the cart and handed Hermione's key back to her.

The goblin looked at Draco, and said in a nasal voice, "Sir, would you like to make a withdraw?" Draco thought it over for one quick moment.

"Yes, I do. I do not know the next time we will be able to make it back," Draco reasoned. Hermione made no complaint. The goblin released the brake and they started their rollercoaster ride again. After about five more minutes of windy tracks, they came to a fork and the goblin steered them to the right. Hermione had her eyes squeezed closed and then opened them when they began to slow.

Draco said to her a little breathlessly, "We don't have a dragon, but we do have to go into this lake to reach the vault," Hermione, who was facing backward, whipped around in her seat and her eyebrows disappeared behind her hair. In front of them was a gleaming lake set in a cavern and the track for the cart dipped down below the water. Draco continued, "You don't have to do anything, its charmed so only enemies drown." Hermione let out a shaky laugh. She was very grateful that Voldemort had decided to keep the blasted cup in the Lestrange vault. The cart drew near the water and Hermione held her breath, out of habit. The cart submerged them in the water and Hermione felt pleasant sensation encase her skin. The water turned everything blue-green and Hermione saw a few small squids float lazily past the cart. This wasn't so bad. She looked at Draco who was laughing at her, no doubt poking fun at her puffed out cheeks. Hermione released the air in her lungs and took a brave breath. It felt like she was taking a breath in high humidity and she relaxed. Draco reached over and stroked her cheek once. The goblin took no notice.

Finally, after a minute or two in the lake, they went through a tunnel and emerged above water again. Hermione babbled, "That was an exquisite display of magic! Where ever did your family find an enchantment like that? Oh, I must find a book on it," and she lapsed into a daydreamy silence. Draco smiled at her. The cart came to an easy stop and Draco hopped out. He held his hand out to Hermione and she frowned, "Are you sure you want me to get out?"

Draco smiled, "Of course, there is something that I'd like to show you," Draco was giddy on the inside with excitement. Draco led her to a huge door. Draco slid a ring off of his middle finger and pressed it to the door. The door creaked and a gust of wind hit them that made Hermione shiver.

Hermione's jaw dropped. She was too stunned to move so Draco took her hand and led her into the vault. Hermione had just entered the cave of wonder. Everything was shiny gold and sterling silver, with the occasional splash of color from precious gemstones and bright vintage clothing. Hermione had never seen or dreamed of a room filled with so much wealth. The natural stone ceiling stood fifty feet tall and golden galleons were stacked in mounds that towered over them. Jewelry was scattered on every surface and there were tables stacked with gold antique vases and trinkets. It reminded Hermione of the room of requirement, only everything was gold. Hermione thought of the Lestrange vault. She had thought that their vault was impressive, but the Lestrange vault looked like an old sardine can compared to the Malfoys.

Draco waited patiently while Hermione finished her assessment. Hermione finally looked at Draco and her first question popped out of her mouth before she could think, "Why on earth do you work if you have all of this?"

Draco smiled sadly, "It can be quite lonely to spend every day with your mother in a dark manor. It's good for me to be around people and to have a purpose,"

"Oh," Hermione said, "I can understand that." She looked around the room once more. Draco took her hand and led her down an actual aisle of galleons. Hermione was blown away. Draco took a right when the aisle ended, walked a few paces and took a left. He had led them to the library section of the vault. Draco sat Hermione down in a throne and walked out of site. Hermione longed to run her hand along the spines of the bookshelves, but she stood still and waited for Draco to return. He was only gone for two minutes but to Hermione, it seemed like forever. Draco was holding something behind his back as he approached Hermione on her throne.

"My Lady," Draco purred and he dropped down to one knee. Hermione's heart started to beat double-time. What was he doing on one knee? Hermione felt both a mixture of fear and excitement pulse through her body.

Draco pulled the item from behind his back and held it out to her.

Hermione's eyes said it all.

A/N: Hi all! I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. Sorry about the cliffhanger. I'll try to have the next chapter out soon. This week I am planning on going back through the story and combing it for errors. One of my fantastic reviewers pointed out to me that the living room should have been trashed while Hermione and Draco were banging. I totally forgot to include that part and I'm going to revise it. As always, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE if you have the time to leave a review of the chapter or story so far. Reviews= faster writing.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Draco smiled and said, "I took this from a snatcher after you escaped from the manor. Sorry, there's a bit of blood on it," Draco grimaced. He brushed the cover with his fingers. "I had no idea the book meant so much to you, I've had it this whole time. What a coincidence you mentioned it today,"

Hermione gasped and reached out for the book. She flipped through the pages quickly and found the story of the three brothers. The deathly hallows symbol was right where it should have been. Hermione was at a loss for words. She slid her hand over the binding. A single tear slipped down her cheek. She hoped Draco didn't notice. "Thank you," she whispered. She looked into his eyes and gave him a watery smile.

"Typical Granger," Draco chuckled, "You are the only girl I know who gets weepy over books," He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and lead her out of the vault after filling a sack of galleons. The goblin was waiting in the cart, looking extremely bored again. Without comment, the goblin sped them to the surface and stopped abruptly at the main entrance that led out to the lobby. The goblin gave a little nod to Draco and Hermione and Draco followed silently behind Hermione as they left the bank. Draco was frowning again as he scanned the street for suspicious activity. Hermione extracted her list from her beaded bag and crossed off the first thing on the list:

 _Extract money from Gringotts for book order_

 _Replenish supplies at apothecary_

 _Place order at Flourish and Blotts_

 _Buy instant darkness powder from George_

 _New tent_

 _Broomstick_

Hermione looked to her right and scanned the street for the apothecary. Hermione turned around to look at Draco. He briefly locked eyes with her and then went back to scowling at shoppers. Hermione said, "I think we'll go to the apothecary next. It's the closest," and she set off when Draco gave her a nod. Draco stayed a few paces behind and Hermione admired him for taking his job seriously, even if it felt a little silly to be followed around. Wendell's Wondrous Apothecary was an odd sort of place. Plants loomed from every corner and odd animals in jars made the place feel rather creepy. Hermione replenished everything that was in her old Hogwarts potions kit and figured it would be just about everything she would need if she was in a pinch. She also bought a tiny vial of essence of dittany and pickled murtlap tentacles. Draco brooded behind her in the quiet shop and slid his wand out of his sleeve anytime the front door tinkled. The shopkeeper, Wendell, gave him an uneasy look and was glad to see them leave. From the apothecary, they made their way to a wizarding outdoor outfitters store. Hermione purchased a good pair of hiking boots and a small tent that would sleep two comfortably. Draco tried to persuade her to get one with a kitchenette, but she opted for just a camp stove instead.

"I think we should go to the bookstore next. I need to place my order for the children's library. I hope they aren't too busy."

To Hermione's and Draco's dismay, the bookstore was the most crowded establishment in Diagon Ally at the present. A sign just outside the door brought them a surprise; Luna Lovegood was signing copies of her new book. Hermione broke into a smile and raced into the busy shop. "It's been ages since I've seen Luna! She's always traveling." Draco was hot on her tail as they moved through the crowd.

"I'll make my order for the children's library first and then I will go see if Luna has time to chat." Draco glowered at everyone in the store while Hermione talked animatedly with the shopkeeper. After Hermione parted with a substantial amount of her gold, she gave a wide smile to Draco and waved him closer, "Draco, let's go say hello to Luna, I want her to know that I bought two copies of her book and I want her to sign them."

Draco furrowed his brow, "Er-Minister Granger," he said formally, Hermione scowled but listened, "I'm not sure it is a good idea for me to be near Luna Lovegood. She has made it quite clear she thinks I'm vermin," Draco said nervously.

Hermione, who had forgotten that Luna had been a prisoner in Draco's house for several months, said, "Nonsense, you've never even met Luna," and she clasped a hand over her mouth as soon as her words left her. Draco gave her an agitated look. "Well, I guess I'll meet you back over here when I am done," and Hermione awkwardly stepped toward the little-raised platform that Luna was perched at. Draco slunk into a shadow and watched Hermione interact with the witch. The women were very excited to see each other and struck up a conversation with ease. Draco would have given a thousand galleons to hear the conversation between the pair. Hermione and Luna seemed to be talking about Luna's new book and then Luna clearly asked a question and Hermione looked directly at Draco without meaning to and Luna's head turned in his direction as well. Luna's eyes narrowed and her lips turned as white as her hair. Draco gulped. Luna turned back to Hermione and asked another question. Hermione looked like she was getting defensive. Draco wondered if he should interfere. Luna raised her eyebrows and asked another. Hermione looked at her stunned for a moment and then nodded. Luna rounded on her quietly and eventually her face softened. Luna looked like she was pleading with Hermione and Draco could only imagine what Luna was saying to Hermione. Hermione nodded to the girl and gave her a hug. Luna gripped Hermione's shoulders with her hands and said something affirming to Hermione and Hermione stood up and hugged Luna again. Luna planted a kiss on Hermione's cheek and Hermione shot a glance at Draco. Draco tried to look indifferent and glanced around the room which was considerably less crowded. The door tinkled and a face Draco recognized walked in the door. Draco bolted for Hermione and before he could say anything to her, he latched onto her arm and apparated them both to the outside of the safe house.

Hermione sucked in a big breath of fresh air and after the shock on her face disappeared, she cried out, "What the HELL was that!?" Draco grabbed Hermione by the waist and half carried, half dragged her into the protection of the fidalius charm. Once they were inside the safety of the fidalius charm, Hermione dug in her heels and gave Draco a look of pure loathing. "I was talking to my friend one minute and then you decided it was time to go?" Hermione was seething.

Draco didn't have time for Hermione's questions or temper. Draco shouted, "Granger! I thought you were in danger! Now I demand that you go into the house and stay put until I get back. Do you understand me?!" Draco pointed toward the door and Hermione looked at him with wide eyes. She didn't move at first but then slowly started to walk toward the front door. With one hand on the door, Hermione turned back to Draco, "What did you see?"

Draco was already walking back to the garden gate but he shouted over his shoulder, "Marcus Flint," and then he stopped and turned around, "I'll see if Harry can come over to watch over you,"

Hermione nodded and entered the house.

Draco instantly apparated back to outside Flourish and Blotts. He entered the establishment and knew that Marcus was already gone. Draco raced back out of the shop and looked up and down the ally. Draco saw a shadow move in the dark space in between two shops and Draco charged forward wand outstretched.

"Whoa man, settle," and Marcus Flint raised his hands to show that he wasn't armed.

Draco growled, "What are you doing here?"

Marcus Flint, who had been wearing a hat low over his eyes, raised his head and sneered at Draco. "I'm just doing a little bit of shopping, what's it to you?"

"Everything. Was there a reason that you showed up in Flourish and Blotts today?" Draco had the tip of his wand pointed at Marcus' chest.

"Sure," I wanted to talk to you; off the books," Marcus added, "to give you a little information. See, I knew that I would be at the top of your suspect list and I wanted to clear my name. I do know a thing or two about what's been going on, but first I need your word that my words stay anonymous."

"I'll keep it anonymous as long as you tell me everything you know, Flint." Draco agreed.

Marcus looked down at Draco's wand and Draco reluctantly lowered it. "I don't have much information, but I do occasionally pick stuff up when I am on the job. People whisper about a revolution that will totally overthrow powerful governments across the world. The most important thing that I do know, is that it is more than one person. There is no way that one killer could have killed both of those men and I reckon that they were close to the attackers. I think it is some organization but I can't be sure."

"Any names that frequently come up?"

"No, but it seems that most people think that women are behind the attacks. That's all I know,"

"Why are you telling me all of this stuff? Whats in it for you?" Draco said in a low voice.

Flint whispered, "I just really don't want to go back to Azkaban." Flint gave a shudder and looked Draco dead in the eyes.

Draco grimaced, "I know the feeling," Draco took a step back from Flint. "Find me or Potter if you hear any more, won't you?"

"Sure, sure," Flint agreed. "I'll be going now." And with a crack, Flint vanished before Draco's eyes. A moment later, Draco apparated to the Ministry of Magic and raced up to Harry's office. Harry's receptionist knocked on his door and allowed Draco to enter after the receptionist got the ok.

"Malfoy, you better have a good reason to be here without Minister Granger strapped to your side." Harry looked up from behind his glasses and squinted.

"Yes, shes at home, safe for now." Harry narrowed his eyes even further. "You see we were out shopping today and one of my suspects showed up in Flourish and Blotts and I brought Hermione straight home and I went back to interrogate him. He told me that he had been looking for me and knew some valuable information."

"Well, what is it?"

"The guy wanted to stay anonymous if that's ok, I don't see why it's a problem at the moment. I'll disclose if I have to. He seems to think that a group of women is behind the attacks in Germany and America."

"Malfoy, that sounds absolutely ridiculous," Harry scoffed.

"I know that! But we have to take this seriously. This at least helps us narrow down the suspect list."

"I do not think we should be narrowing down the suspect list based on this information alone! What if your source is just trying to throw you off?"

"I'll treat the information carefully and look at more possibilities. I have no reason to think this person would lie to me, especially after tracking me down to pass on information," Draco looked at his watch, he had been away from Hermione for at least thirty minutes. It was far too long in his opinion. "I need to get back to the minister. Please owl me if anything occurs to you."

"Goodbye, Malfoy. Take care of our Hermione," Potter answered and he picked up his quill to jot something down. Draco nodded and walked to the apparition room quickly.

When Draco entered the house, he did not immediately place Hermione. He could hear the rushing water of the jets in the bathtub and he knew that Hermione was soaking in the tub. He did not alert his presence to her because he knew she could probably use the time to think. Draco did feel bad about stealing her away mid-conversation from her friend. Hopefully, Luna would understand. Draco was walking back down the hallway that leads to the stairs when he caught sight of something shiny in Hermione's room. He gently pushed open the door and walked inside. He felt bad for snooping in her room, but he was a Slytherin by heart and couldn't miss the opportunity to learn more about the witch that had turned his world upside-down in just a few days.

The silver flash of light had turned out to be a muggle contraption that had tiny letters on keys and had paper sticking out of the top. Draco knew this to be a writing tool. It seemed that the machine was fairly new and had a sleek design. Next to the contraption was a massive stack of papers. It was nearly two feet tall and looked like it was held in place by magic. Draco took a step closer and squinted at the writing on the page.

 _Always_

 _A Memoir by Hermione Jean Granger_

Draco's eyes widened. This was the book Hermione was working on. Draco lifted off the cover page. The writing was tiny and Draco marveled at how much content must be in the book. Draco listened for the bathroom jets and found that Hermione was still in the tub. Draco picked up the first page and began to read:

 _Foreward:_

 _The first time I met Harry Potter was on the Hogwarts Express. In an attempt to make friends, something I was never really good at, I helped a boy look for his toad that he had misplaced. I walked up and down the train corridors and opened every compartment and spoke to the inhabitants about the missing toad. This was how I met Harry Potter and Ron Weasley for the first time. I barged into the compartment asked them about the toad and found them attempting to do magic. Ron, who had a magnificent smudge of dirt on his nose, was trying to turn his rat yellow. Three years later we found out that the rat, Scabbers, was actually a man named Peter Pettigrew and this is why spells never worked properly on him, but I'll go into detail about this later. I then discovered that Harry Potter was sitting right in front of me and I proceeded to tell him all about the books I had read about him in. I do not think to this day that he has read a single one of them. I bossed the boys around a great deal that day. Harry, Ron and I did not become best friends instantly. I think that most people assume that we were friends from the start but we weren't best friends until they heroically and foolishly saved me from a mountain troll on Halloween._

 _This is the story of Harry Potter as I remember it. Harry has entrusted me with this task because he knows I will always tell the truth, even if I didn't in the past, and he has never been one to do homework. This is an accurate account of what happened between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort and I know that many of you will take part in the journey. Every person in this memoir has ups and downs over the years and I will not sugarcoat any of the encounters in this book. This story has a bittersweet ending and I look forward to sharing this memoir with you._

 _With Love,_

 _Hermione Jean Granger_

Draco's heart was beating fast. He lifted a section of the papers off the top and glanced at the words on the page. He hoped that he would find his name in the print. He desperately wanted to know what Hermione had said about him before the book was published. He knew his role in Harry Potter's life was not a positive one and he knew that he would get an even worse reputation once the book was out. Draco picked up more pieces of paper and at last, he found his name at the bottom of the page. He read the sentence and held his breath.

 _I saw Draco Malfoy with his two friends Crabbe and Goyle hiding in some bushes that overlooked Hagrid's cabin. They were sniggering and when they saw the three of us walking down the path, they began to taunt us about poor Buckbeak. Something snapped inside of me that day. I charged up to Draco Malfoy with my wand raised, deciding which hex I was going to fire out when suddenly my right fist closed into a tight fist and punched him. His nose made the most satisfying crunching sound I have ever heard. I screamed at him, "You vile, evil, loathsome little cockroach!" and the pure shock of my punch sent them scampering into the castle. Harry and Ron stood behind me entirely flabbergasted and when I turned around to meet their gaze, they looked a little scared._

Draco let out a little laugh at these words. Hermione was terrifying when she wanted to be. Draco rubbed his nose and remembered all to clearly how much Hermione's punch had hurt. The door creaked open and Hermione walked in and glared at Draco.

"Enjoying yourself?" Hermione said with a scowl. Draco instantly set the manuscript down neatly and backed away from the writing desk.

"Hermione, I'm sorry. The writing contraption caught my eye and I got carried away."

"What did you think of what you read?" Hermione inquired. Draco was relieved to see that she wasn't terribly upset.

"I read the forward and the part where you punched me in the face and I found both to be intriguing," Draco said honestly. "The part where you punched me in the face was extremely accurate."

"I'm glad you think so," Hermione said. She was wrapped in her bathroom and she strode into the closet to pick out clothes. She slipped on a comfortable t-shirt dress and leggings and exited. "Where did you run off to today?" She sounded a little less calm.

"I went to speak with Marcus Flint. He provided me with an interesting theory and then I went straight to Potter to talk about it."

"So what was the theory?"

"I'm not sure that I should worry you when there is probably nothing to it,"

Hermione made a face, "This is about my life Draco, and I think I should know everything so I can keep my guard up,"

"Alright," Draco agreed, "Let's go downstairs and I'll walk you through what I know so far," and the pair spent the evening trying to connect dots.

A/N: Wow. You guys are probably pretty shocked that I haven't updated until now. Thank you so much for reading this story. I have over 100 followers and I am so proud. It has been a crazy month. College has been extremely tough and on top of that, one of the girls I used to play sports with was sadly murdered in her home right around Thanksgiving and it made it impossible for me to write. When I finally did begin to write this chapter, my computer auto updated and only saved half of the chapter. Hopefully, I can have the next chapter up soon, but no guarantees with Christmas and New Years. I'm going to Orlando to see Harry Potter World for the first time and I'm hoping it'll bring me a lot of inspiration.

Also, I am looking for someone to start beta-ing this story. I feel like a lot of errors are slipping through the cracks. If you are interested PM me! As always, please please review! I love hearing your feedback about chapters. Tell me what you think! Reviews help me write faster. Sorry for the super long authors note and short chapter :(


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Over a month had passed by without any further developments. Draco was beginning to get frustrated. No matter how hard he examined the information sent to him daily from the ministry, he failed to find connection. Relatively few wizards from Britain had traveled abroad to other countries when the attacks took place, though he knew that there were ways of traveling without the ministry knowing. Draco was forced to conclude that perhaps Flint was onto something though being trapped within the confines of the fidelius charm he had no way to follow up on leads. Draco asked Harry several times to allow him to check back in with Flint and follow some of his other leads. Draco always got the same reply.

 _Malfoy,_

 _I truly know how much it sucks to be trapped in a house with no answers. I promise you that I am taking every word of advice you are sending me and I am closely monitoring the situation. The minister is the top priority and we have to eliminate the threat before we allow Hermione to come out of hiding. I'll try and see if I can take some time to drop by; perhaps you can visit your mother._

 _Keep her safe,_

 _H.P._

Draco grumbled and tossed Harry's latest reply in the bin. Hermione looked up from her typewriter, "What did it say?"

"The usual, he wants us to stay hidden,"

"That sounds like Harry," She went back to typing on her machine. Despite being trapped in the house, Hermione had settled in quite well. When Draco asked about how she was coping she replied, "It has been surprisingly nice just to relax and worry about myself for once. I've made a tremendous amount of progress on my manuscript and I think I'll be able to finish it soon." Over the course of the month the pair had chatted about their likes and dislikes and had learned a tremendous amount about each other.

On a cold mid-December day, Hermione and Draco had just finished a round of sex that burst the pipes in the bathroom and caused water to soak the carpet in the hallway when they heard a knock at the door. Draco groaned and slid out of bed. He waved his wand lazily and dressed himself. This had to be Potter. With caution, Draco opened the door and greeted Harry. Draco had his question ready.

"What animal was I turned into when Professor Moody attacked me?" Draco asked bitterly, hating the memory.

"A white ferret," Harry said with a smirk. Draco opened the door wider and motioned for Harry to enter. Hermione descended the stairs and ran to give Harry a hug.

"Hermione," Harry greeted. Neither Hermione or Draco noticed that Harry had smelled a masculine scent on Hermione as they embraced. She pulled back and smiled at him. Harry tried to mask his suspicions and pulled gently on one of Hermione's curls. Draco narrowed his eyes, slightly jealous.

Harry turned to Draco, "I dropped by so you could have some time off of duty. Your mother has written to me at least six times begging me to let you have some time off, though I haven't heard any complaints from you. I expect you to be back here early tomorrow morning."

Draco gave Hermione a fleeting apologetic look that Harry did not miss. "Sure, Potter, that sounds great. I'll just go pack a few items." And Draco slowly went back upstairs. He didn't bother to pack anything. His mother would make sure that he had all that he needed. Instead, Draco sat on his bed for a moment and thought about Hermione. He had never found anyone like her and he knew that he wanted her for the rest of eternity. No girl had ever been able to interact with Draco on an academic level or spend time together in comfortable silence. The time in bed was fantastic and Draco knew he would never want another woman. He knew that it was far too soon to pop the question but he longed to make it at least official.

Draco wasn't sure if his mother would accept Hermione. Narcissa seemed set on finding Draco a pureblood wife, but he thought it was mostly for status and tradition. Narcissa had begun to question the pureblood ways as soon as Lord Voldemort signed Draco up for death. She only ever admitted this to Draco. Since then, she had only stayed to protect her son. Draco's mother loved him far too much to deny him this one choice but the thought of actually telling her sent a swooping sensation in Draco's stomach.

After excusing herself from Harry, who looked at her quizzically, ran up the stairs and knocked on Draco's door.

"Draco? Can I come in?"

Draco snapped out of it and answered, "Sure," and Hermione entered. She didn't act surprised that Draco wasn't actually packing.

"I thought I might ask if you needed any help packing,"

"No, I think I have everything that I need. Promise me that you won't do anything crazy while I'm gone," Draco said and stood up.

"Not to worry, I'm just going to comb through my manuscript with Harry,"

"Don't fall into that book of yours," Draco said sarcastically and then he walked over to her and planted a soft kiss on Hermione's forehead.

Hermione whispered sadly, "I'll miss you even if you are just going to be gone one day".

"I'll miss you too."

"I hope you have a great time with your mother, Draco."

Draco opened the door, "We'll see Granger," and he left without looking behind.

Hermione took a deep breath, sank down onto Draco's bed and let out a heavy sigh. She couldn't believe how attached she was to him. She thought to herself, _It_ _'_ _s probably a very good thing we_ _'_ _re getting some time apart. I_ _'_ _ve grown very attached._

When she heard Draco mutter, "Potter," and slam the door, she descended the steps and went straight to the kitchen to brew some tea. Her face felt hot. Harry walked over to the kitchen bar and picked up the page that lay drying next to the typewriter. "I see you've been busy," said Harry.

Hermione jumped and wheeled around to look at Harry, "What on earth makes you say that?" Her mind had instantly went to being 'busy' with Draco. When Hermione noticed the page in Harry's hand, she relaxed. Harry got the reaction he was looking for. Hermione was keeping a secret and Harry had a good idea of what that secret might be.

"Oh yes, I've been taking the time to work on my manuscript, it's almost done. Actually, it might be good to go over some of the facts while you're here. I don't want to get anything wrong," Hermione said, frowning in concentration as she whipped the paper out of Harry's hand and placed it neatly on the very hearty stack papers to the left of the typewriter.

"I'm sure it's all perfect, Hermione, and I'm more interested to hear about you and Malfoy. How long have you two been shagging?"

Hermione's face turned light pink and then transitioned to burgundy. Harry smirked and silently congratulated himself on his correct assumption.

Hermione spluttered, "But Ginny promised not to tell!"

Harry growled, "Ginny knew?! That blasted witch," but he recovered quickly, and said in a much calmer tone, "I figured it out on my own. You very subtly smell like him." Hermione sniffed her shirt. _Ahh_ , there was a faint smell of Draco on her. She recalled him spritzing his wonderful smelling cologne next to her while she brushed her teeth in the bathroom earlier that morning.

"So, how did it happen?" Harry said looking at his nails in an almost bored way. Hermione was pleased to see that he didn't seem upset.

"Well its been coming on for a while now but nothing really happened until after the fundraiser. Draco kept fighting it. Then it kind of escalated from there. I suppose that we have more in common then we let on and cooping us up together sort of dragged it out of us." Hermione blushed all over again and then she gushed like a little girl, "I really have grown fond of him,"

Harry smiled, "Who would have ever thought? Muggleborn Granger and Pureblood Malfoy taking a liking to each other. It makes so much sense really, too bad he was a nasty little swot in school."

Hermione laughed, "Yeah, he was a mean little thing, but people change," and she smiled.

Harry smiled and said thoughtfully, "It's sort of a beautiful thing, you and Malfoy, I'm glad we can live in a world where the two of you can be together."

Hermione smiled yet again, "I suppose you could say its beautiful. It feels right. It seems a bit rushed though, we kind of exploded with the tension."

Harry shrugged, "Its alright that things seem a bit rushed. Its passion and passion doesn't like to take things slow."

Harry and Hermione spent the rest of the afternoon chatting about Draco and reading Hermione's manuscript. Harry kept bursting out laughing at all of the stupid and deadly things they managed to get away with. He hoped Professor McGonagall never read the book and started to get really nervous at the thought.

"Maybe we should personally send her a copy with a note that says 'Dear Professor, please don't ever read this book, you'll be so disappointed in us. We're really sorry for all of the stupid stuff we did. If you must read the book please try to remember that we were kids. Sincerely, Harry, Ron and Hermione,'"

Hermione laughed, "I'll make sure to do that. I do think that we need to send her a copy personally. Actually, I feel that anyone mentioned in the book deserves to have a copy delivered to them."

Hermione frowned and looked at Harry, "You know, this might be a bit premature but I think I want to do an epilogue that has something to do with me and Draco, even if we don't last."

Harry squinted and looked at Hermione funny, "How do you mean?"

A fire started to grow in Hermione's eyes, "Here, I'll type it out," and she raced to her type writer. Harry sank down on the sofa and picked up a book. It was going to be a while.

About an hour later, Hermione presented it to Harry. Harry began to read:

 _"_ _I am so grateful to live in a world where love conquers all and I am saddened that it wasn_ _'_ _t_ _always this way. Those of us who were taught potions by Professor Severus Snape would never have thought that he was so bitter because he had lost the love of his life. It_ _'_ _s a_ _tragedy, but the tragedy does have a happy ending. We all fought in this war so we could love with all of our hearts regardless of blood status or anything else. I am currently sitting across from a beautiful white haired man with shattering beautiful grey eyes. I am of course talking about Draco Malfoy. This war paved a way for us to be together. Some of you might be shocked that we ended up together but if you think about it, you_ _'_ _ll agree that we are a good match. Lily Potter and Severus Snape gave their lives so people like us could love freely. I am not a seer, and as you_ _'_ _ve read, I hate divination but I believe that we are meant to be together. If the two most unlikely people can be together, anyone can be together. Love wins. I guess that is moral of the story._

 _"_ _It's a bit unrefined, but I think it'll shape up alright," Hermione said nervously._

 _"_ _Its so beautiful, Hermione, people are going to cherish it," Harry said a bit teary. "_ _It is all about love in the end,_ _"_

 _A/N: Sorry that its been months and all, please don_ _'_ _t expect an update any time soon. I do plan on updating soon but I hate to tell you it_ _'_ _ll be done by a certain date because the real world is important. It_ _'_ _s a_ _reoccurring theme amongst fanfiction writers and I_ _'_ _m sure you understand by this point. Leave me a comment if you_ _'_ _d like, its very exciting and I do always reply. The next chapter will be about Draco and his mother. Stay tuned!_


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